Make It Work
by jay64
Summary: After four years of studying design and working at Vogue, Kurt will do anything to be fully accepted into the exclusive fashion world. Blaine on the other hand has little idea what to do now that he's graduated from NYU. The two meet as contestants on the TV show Project Runway, and sparks fly, but can they make it work?
1. Prologue

**Hi everybody, I'm back! It took a little longer than expected but real life stuff just got in the way. Anyway, here is the prologue of the promised Project Runway au. I will update weekly like I did last time, so every Tuesday.**

**In case you don't know, Project Runway is a reality TV show where each week (or day in this story because the contestants on the show film each challenge back to back) the competitors make a piece of clothing based on a certain theme. Then the garments are judged and the weakest designer is sent home.**

**Every chapter after this will be a different challenge with somebody going home at the end. For each chapter I will also include a picture of Kurt and Blaine's design for that week. As I am not a designer, they will just be pictures of pieces I have found online, but I'll make sure to credit them all. **

**I'm going to tell you right now that nobody from canon except Kurt and Blaine will be featured in this. All the other competing designers will be OCs but they're not going to have too major of a roll. **

**(also I apologize for the lack of creativity with my title, I suck at picking them)**

**Well besides the fact that I don't own Glee, I think that's it. I hope you all enjoy!**

* * *

"Why am I here?" he asked with a raised eyebrow and a small, disbelieving smile. "I'm here to win of course. Everyone is, even if they tell you otherwise."

* * *

"Um, I guess I'm here to gain experience, and improve my skills, and uh... I want to learn more about myself and my goals. I want to figure out if this really is the thing for me, you know?"

* * *

"My style is elegance with an edge. It's always fresh, it's always new, it's always fabulous."

* * *

"I'm not sure I have a defined style but I would definitely say I like to work with wearable stuff. I mean, avant-garde, it's really cool and takes a lot of talent, but I want people to actually be able to wear my clothes."

* * *

Barking out a dry laugh he said, "When I win it will be a dream come true. But no, I'm of course incredibly honored to be here. Fashion has been a part of my life for so long and this is just the boost I need right now."

* * *

"I can't say I grew up watching the show and applying a million times until I was finally accepted, but I'm definitely psyched to be here, and so gratefully stunned I was given this opportunity."

* * *

"Well it's been a pleasure, Kurt," said the middle aged woman as she shut off the camera.

"Likewise," Kurt responded with a sweet smile and a cock of his head as his hand drifted up pat down his collar. The interview went flawlessly except for the brief falter when he was questioned on whether he had a boyfriend waiting back home for him (Marcus hadn't been anything too special but finding him with his lips attached to Brittney of all people well... it certainly wasn't a pleasant experience for anyone within earshot) so he was in a pleasant enough mood and decided to stick around for a few extra minutes and schmooze the camera crew. This was a TV show after all, and though Kurt had no doubt he would win, extra face time would give him even more exposure.

Finally he said his goodbyes and walked down the long hallway he had come and towards a giant glass elevator. Kurt had known Atlas New York, the apartment complex all the contestants were staying in, would be luxurious, especially in comparison to his own shoe box sized place, but it still managed to take his breath away.

Kurt stepped into the apartment and called out a "hello" but no one responded. He must be the first one there. It wasn't surprising really, he only lived about ten minutes away. In fact, his apartment was actually closer to Parsons, they place they'd be filming, than this place was. He moved there about a year ago when he finally got tired of Rachel's revolving door of boys. First Finn, then Brody, then Finn again, then a couple random guys, then back to Brody; it was exhausting! Plus as a student at Parson's the commute was virtually nonexistent.

There had of course been boys over the years in his life, the most serious being Tyler who Kurt dated for a little over a year, and who he had (maybe) loved, but that was almost two years ago now. Between going to school, which he only graduated from a few months ago, and interning at Vogue, he had barely had any time to himself.

But soon all this double booking would be over. After this month he would return to Vogue (Isabelle had assured him his spot was being held) and, if everything went according to plan, he would finally be promoted to a real employee. Kurt was warned his pay wouldn't really increase all that much but he couldn't care less about that; as cheesy as it was, doing what he loved was payment enough. Besides, once he was crowned winner of Project Runway, they'd be begging him to stay, and offering anything and everything they could to ensure he did.

* * *

"That's it, we're done! You are free to go Blaine."

"Thanks so much!" Blaine said enthusiastically, reaching out to shake the plump woman's hand. He hopped off the stool and wiped his somewhat sweaty palms on the back of his pants. Craning his neck, he saw a couple other people around the room also talking to interviewers with cameras. They must be his competition.

The whole situation was absolutely surreal and Blaine still wondered if maybe it was a dream. Ages ago, when he was filling out the application, he never dreamed of getting in. With no proper schooling, and being as young as he was, it seemed a mistake. He understood they always want a variety of people, but he already feels vastly under qualified just from some of the questions he was asked.

After getting directions from one the crew members, he wandered off looking for the lobby. As he went he felt his shoulders drop and his smile dim; his altered stage presence was something that had stuck with him even after he stopped performing.

Blaine was an English major at NYU, or rather, he had been one. He graduated just two weeks ago so now he was just one of the many unemployed kids fresh out of college with a semi-useless degree. Okay, that might have been a bit dramatic, but he was feeling pretty lost right now.

His dad had shot down his dreams of pursuing music from the get go and Blaine can't say he was surprised or even that disappointed. He loved performing but he didn't have the passion to take it all the way. Design had also briefly been discussed- or, discussed probably wasn't the right word...

"Design! You can't be serious Blaine, that's not a real career!" Blaine had been about to retort that the man's own wife was a seamstress, and a great one at that, when his dad continued, "At least not for a man."

So that had been the end of that and Blaine was left to choose something else. His dad had never been a warm man, especially after Blaine came out, but he didn't often comment on it, so when he did Blaine knew it was serious.

The only other thing Blaine could think to study at the time ("because you can't just go into college without a plan Blaine!") was English. His father was wary at first but soon a plan hatched that was "perfect": law school. Blaine could get his bachelor's in English and then move onto law school and become a lawyer.

This was pretty much the opposite of what Blaine wanted but he reasoned he had four years to figure out how to tell his dad that so he put it out of his head.

But suddenly it was the day of his graduation and he hadn't gotten in or even applied to NYU Law and instead was going on some reality TV design show and he had no idea how to tell his dad. So, in classic Blaine fashion, he just let it all spew out in one long, stuttering sentence.

Blaine's mom had known, had even helped him with his application for the show, but she wasn't helping him now. Furious was an understatement when describing Joe Anderson's response and Blaine hadn't talked to him since.

Shaking his head, Blaine willed away the memories and focused in on the present. For the next month (or however long he stayed) Blaine got to do one of the things he truly loved, and he wasn't going to waste that time by focusing on what would come after.

* * *

Kurt's roommate was an older, bottle blond guy (although he denied it) and in Kurt's opinion he couldn't go soon enough. It wasn't just that he was unused to sharing a room, it was that Gary would not shut up. They left the other two men they were sharing a space with, Stephan and Davis, half an hour ago and Gary hadn't stopped yapping since they entered the room, even when Kurt had walked into their shared bathroom.

"... so because of that our trip in Paris was shorter than expected but-"

"Hey Gary, I'm going to bed now." And before he could respond Kurt plugged in his ear buds and got into bed. He wasn't the least bit tired, but he needed time to mentally prepare for tomorrow, and he couldn't think with all that noise.

There hadn't been any introduction type thing tonight so Kurt wasn't going to meet everyone else until the next morning. Davis seemed to be very mellow and Kurt liked that; it meant he wasn't a fighter. To be able to handle the stress of a competition like this you needed passion and dedication. Stephan unfortunately had both those things and although Kurt knew this wasn't a place to make friends, he couldn't deny his attractiveness. A long, lean body, short blond hair, bright grey eyes; it was a winning combination. Kurt didn't even mind the multiple piercing that littered his face.

As Kurt thought more about it, he decided he might come in handy as a stress reliever. But that's as far as it would go, this wasn't the time to be shopping for boyfriends. And besides, he was far too cocky for Kurt's taste.

The night dragged on and as Kurt expected he couldn't sleep even after all his usual meditation fixes. He must have managed it at some point though because suddenly he was jolted awake in the still dark morning by the shrill sound of the provided alarm clock.

* * *

The four of them, Blaine, Alexander, Austin, and Harry Pyper III (Blaine had to choke back laughter upon hearing that name and his insistence it not be shortened), were sitting around and drinking the complementary wine when the subject of schooling came up.

Alexander hadn't studied design in college either which made Blaine feel a little better, although he was about thirty years older. Austin and Harry were closer to his age and the former had a degree from FIT while the latter had one from the London College of Fashion. With this knowledge Blaine was sufficiently knocked back down to feeling inadequate again.

"What about you Blaine, where'd you go to school?" Austin asked him after he didn't volunteer anything.

"NYU," he answered and, after seeing their blank looks he added, "I majored in English."

"Wait, have you ever even taken any classes before?" Harry's tone was positively gleeful and Blaine knew he was already being written off.

"Not technically, but my mom seamstress, and she made a lot of her own stuff, so I learned everything I know from her."

Blaine's mom, Holly, never attempted selling any of her creations, but Blaine's sure she could if she wanted. The gowns she made were gorgeous but the only person who ever wore them was herself. With all the company parties her husband attended, there always seemed to be some excuse for her to be working on something new. Holly was also known in the neighborhood for her skills and often had people stopping by with ripped or torn items. Watching and working with her, that's where Blaine learned it all.

So yes, he didn't have a degree, and he hadn't taken any formal classes, but experience was something he had plenty of. Experience and four years of limited time to express all his ideas; he was ready for this.

* * *

**In case you didn't figure it out, the beginning is a series of point of view shifts starting with Kurt and they are both answering the same questions.**

**I'd love to hear what you thought of this first chapter, especially if you don't watch Project Runway because I'm desperately afraid this will only appeal/make sense to people who watch the show. And if you do watch the show, and you're watching this current season, then definitely come tell me what you think about it! Personally I'm still undecided about the whole team thing.**

**See you next Tuesday xoxo**


	2. Chapter 1

**Alright guys it's time for the first challenge!** **The pictures of Kurt's and Blaine's garments are posted at the bottom so you can look at them at whatever part of the story you want. **

**Reminder I don't own Glee and I don't own either of the garments Kurt and Blaine made!**

* * *

"Hello designers, and welcome to season 16 of Project Runway!"

It's different from how it looked on TV obviously- the biggest thing being the cameras, lights, and crew all the visible to Kurt- but it doesn't make Tim's words any less sweet. Those are the words he's been waiting to hear for so long.

Heidi Klum took over from there, uttering all the necessary pleasantries and introductory instructions. A girl to Kurt's left was openly staring at one the cameras, mouth a little agape, and Kurt turned away, cringing. He hoped the producers would have the brains to edit that out because talk about unprofessional.

"Alright designers," Tim said after Heidi had finished, "let's head to the workroom where today's challenge will be explained."

After a few seconds the head cameraman gave the all clear and everyone relaxed, a few even talking quietly with the people around them.

"But first," Tim announced with chuckle, "we're going to eat breakfast! We couldn't show that on film, we can't have people thinking we're going easy on you." His finished with a wink which pulled laughter out of couple people but Kurt just scowled. This stupid breakfast would only waste precious time that could be spent working.

As they walked to a little breakfast diner that was on the way to Parson's, Tim assured them all this was just a one time thing; a celebratory introduction. Kurt didn't talk to anyone as they went and not many others were feeling chatty either. Instead, most people were just eyeing each other suspiciously.

Once everyone settled in and the food had been ordered, the floodgates of conversation opened a bit. Tim and Heidi sat at the table with them but mostly talked amongst themselves. This was obviously set up so the designers could get to know each other a little better.

Kurt spoke for a few minutes with Stephan about what they thought today's challenge would be and as it dwindled down he caught a pair of eyes looking at him. Raising his eyebrows, he settled on a dark-haired boy sitting diagonal to him. He seemed around Kurt's own age and his friendly smile widened as he met Kurt's gaze.

"Blaine Anderson," he offered, looking completely unalarmed that he'd just been caught staring.

"Kurt Hummel."

"So I noticed you didn't look too happy to be coming to eat here..." Blaine teased, a grin tugging at the corner of his lips.

"I came here to design, not eat breakfast," Kurt deadpanned.

Blaine didn't look offended though, if anything his smile grew, and it dug under Kurt's skin. Blaine wasn't his usual type (blond and lanky), but he was alarmingly cute, especially when he smiled.

"Fair enough."

The food came at this point and Kurt figured their conversation, if you could call it that, was over, but Blaine opened his mouth again.

"So are you anxious to see the workroom? Find out where all the magic happens?"

Swallowing his bite of omelet, which was delicious he had to admit, Kurt responded, "Oh I've already seen all that. I went to Parson's after all."

Blaine nodded and hummed but for a quick second, right beforehand, Kurt swore he saw a grimace light his face.

"Where'd you go?" Kurt asked.

"Uhh," he hesitated, looking slightly uncomfortable, "I didn't go anywhere. I mean," he continued quickly, "I went to school, NYU, but I didn't study design or anything."

Now it was Kurt's turn to hum and nod and while he fought to keep a look of casual interest on his face, his stomach twisted nervously. Blaine must be good, really good, to get here without any formal training.

He wanted to ask what Blaine did study instead, but he decided to keep things focused on the competition. "So where did you learn it all?"

"My mom," he answered. "It's a hobby for her, but she's amazing at it."

Images of a younger Blaine working side-by-side with his mother went through his mind and it brought the familiar ache to Kurt's chest. His mom had taught him how to sew, but that was more so he could fix up his own clothes when they ripped because she was getting too tired to do it. Plus, although it went unsaid, Kurt knew a lot of what she taught him those last few months was because she knew he would need those skills once she was gone.

"What about you, do you come from a family of fabulous fashionistas?" Blaine tone had changed from the soft affection he'd used a second ago back to the lighthearted... flirting perhaps.

An involuntary bark of laughter tumbled out of his mouth at the thought of his dad and fashion and to Blaine's questioning expression he said, "My dad is probably the least fashion conscious person I know. He thinks jeans without holes is dressing up. And my mom died when I was little and while I remember her clothing in a positive light, I may have been biased."

As Kurt knew it would, Blaine face dropped and took on a mournful quality. "Oh, Kurt, I'm so sorry."

Kurt just shrugged awkwardly and said, "It's fine, it was a long time ago."

Blaine opened his mouth as if to say something else but no words ever came out. If he was polite Kurt would change the subject so they could end their conversation on a lighter note but he didn't do that. It's not that he wanted Blaine to feel bad, he just didn't have anything else worthwhile to say.

And besides, what does he care about Blaine's feelings? He's just his competition. In fact, maybe this will distract him, throw him off his game. Even as Kurt thought it though, he knew it wasn't, unfortunately, how he felt.

* * *

The first challenge was revealed to be create a garment that shows the judges who you are as a designer. This didn't come as a surprise to Blaine or anybody else as it was pretty typical of the first project to be something along those lines.

For most designers this was the one they loved the most; there was so much freedom and it was a topic they felt passionate about. Blaine, however, felt the opposite way. Dresses were his thing but beyond that he didn't really know. He usually just went in whatever direction his mind took him that day and the result was his portfolio being a wide variety of things.

The trip to Mood had been a disaster until he saw a little girl with a big red bow in her hair. It reminded him of Mally, his next door neighbor when he was growing up. Blaine babysat her quite often because of the frequency their parents went out together. She was almost like a little sister to him.

Mally was always fascinated by his mother's clothing and sometimes Blaine would sneak into his parents room with her so she could look at the clothes. Blaine never let her wear any of them (not that they would have fit anyway) which resulted in good-natured pouting which led to an "undesired" on Blaine's part game of dress up.

Blaine had always dreamed of making her a dress, especially as he got older and more adept at creating things, but he never got around to it. So this challenge, he decided, would be to make the dress he never did for Mally.

Trashing his original sketch, Blaine began work on his new design and had it down within the hour. They had quite a bit of time for this challenge- the rest of that day and the entire next day too- but Blaine didn't like to be rushed. Of course, he knew this show was all about the rush, so he'd better get use to it.

* * *

Kurt knew what he wanted the moment he stepped into Mood: gold and black charmeuse. Not that obnoxious, cartoonish gold, but one with a tint of grey to it. He found it easily and had checked out with twenty minutes still left to shop. Smiling smugly, he watched with crossed arms as the other designers ran around like chickens with their heads cut off.

Blaine wandered by at one point and while he had nothing in his hands with only ten minutes left, he didn't look all that panicked. Then, as if he'd been struck by lightning, he straightened up, face glowing, and tore off in the opposite direction.

On the journey back to Parson's Kurt tried to sneak a glance in the other designers bags but he couldn't really get more than a glimpse. He did notice, however, that Blaine had something at least, and Kurt was glad he had gotten it together. He didn't want to win by default, or because the other designers made horrible things, he wanted to win because he was better than the best.

After a few hours of diligent work, Kurt decided a break was in order. He grabbed one of the complementary salads and settled down at an empty table in the lounge room attached to the workroom.

Two girls, one with spiky blonde hair and tattoos that covered every inch of visible skin and the other a stick thin, dark haired girl who resembled a raven, sat across the room and were deep in conversation.

A cough to his left startled Kurt and he looked up to see Blaine standing there with a salad of his own. "Mind if I sit here?"

"Go ahead," Kurt said with a gesture to the seat across from him.

Blaine sat and dressed his salad before saying, "I saw your piece as I walked in here. It's really pretty. The draping is fantastic already."

Kurt narrowed his eyes and tried to discern any sarcasm behind the words and when he found none he thanked him. It just didn't seem normal, his competition complimenting him. Maybe later down the road when they'd gotten to know eachother better, or when a camera was around so he'd look like a good guy, but not now.

"I know mine's a little boring right now, but don't you worry, I'm going to spice it up."

Hiding his smile at Blaine's enthusiasm by taking a sip of water, Kurt tried to remember if he saw what Blaine had been working on. It took a few seconds but then he remembered the seemingly generic white dress and he hoped Blaine was serious about spicing things up.

"I'm sure you will," Kurt said not unkindly as he stood up. "Sorry to dash out on you but I really should get back to work."

"No worries," Blaine said brightly. "I'll talk to you later?"

His expression was borderline hopeful and Kurt didn't like it one bit. Originally he said he wasn't even going to talk to any of the other designers and while he knew that was extreme, it would make things easier in a lot of ways. Kurt didn't want this, he didn't want to befriend anyone here, but there was only response he could have in this situation. "Yeah, definitely."

* * *

Tim Gunn was, in Blaine's opinion, the most important person on Project Runway. He's the one who really got to know the designers because he saw the inner workings of the design process. Plus, it seems whichever pieces Tim like the judges like too.

So in conclusion, you always listen to Tim Gunn.

On the second day of work, around noon, Tim entered the workroom and said he would be making his rounds. He started on the opposite side of the room from Blaine so he was able to ignore him at first. As he got closer, however, Blaine found himself more and more distracted.

Or maybe he was distracted because he was talking to Kurt.

Kurt Hummel. Just the name made him smile. It was ridiculous because he barely knew the guy, and because they were grown men and Blaine was acting like a child, but he couldn't help it. Kurt was so confident and put together and sure of himself. He had real vision as a designer, Blaine could tell. And beyond all that he was kind and witty and forgiving. (After bringing up his mom like that Blaine wouldn't have been surprised if he never talked to him again. Especially considering he didn't seem to be a very chatty person)

It was pretty safe to say that Blaine had, for lack of a more mature word, a crush.

He watched Tim talk to Kurt and from the look on Kurt's face it seemed to be going well. Once Tim moved on Blaine tore his gaze away and tied a few practice bows as he waited for the man to reach his station.

"Hello Mr..." he paused, looking down at his clipboard, "Anderson. Tell me about your piece."

Blaine tried not to be nervous but not only was it Tim but an entire camera crew in his face. They'd been walking around the entire time but they were never this close before.

"Well, I really like making fun, wearable things so that's where this dress is heading. I want it to remind you of something you wore as a child but be more sophisticated."

Laughing, Tim said, "I'm not sure it's something I personal wore as a child but I understand your sentiment. Although I have to wonder, is this really going to show the judges who you are as a designer?"

"Um, I hope?" Blaine said with a forced chuckle.

Tim gave him his famous worried look but said nothing further on the subject. Instead he just looked at it for a few minutes before asking, "What are you planning to do with the back?"

"I want to incorporate some of this," Blaine said, holding up some thick but light silver chains, "as well as another bow maybe."

A thick red ribbon tied around the waist of the dress and stopped with a large bow in the back so Blaine knew that was were the focus was going to be. The chains, he thought, would stand out well against the simplicity of the other fabrics and he hoped Tim would agree.

"Ooh I like those," Tim exclaimed and Blaine let out a sigh of relief. "The only things I would caution against is making sure it isn't too safe and doesn't look too childish." He paused for another few seconds before nodding one last time and saying, "Make it work!" as he walked away.

New levels of excitement coursed through Blaine as he brainstormed ideas for his design. His original had been to keep the dress completely backless as that would rid it of the childlike nature but now he thinks it's not enough. Then an image came to him that absolutely perfect... a present! He would criss-cross the chains in an x formation on the back and put a bow in the middle. It was the perfect way to keep it true to his original vision while giving it some sex appeal.

With a large smile on his face he began measuring at the ribbon for the bow and for the first time since the competition started, Blaine felt like he really had made the right choice by coming here.

* * *

Kurt hadn't sat down, or even taken a deep breath for the last two hours. His model, Aria, had to be all ready and out the door in less than ten minutes.

Truthfully, she had been reading for the last hour, but there were always little things to touch up. Right now he was trying desperately to get the folds of the dress to fall in the exact way he wanted. Logically he knew they would move and shift before Aria even reached the runway but it was something to keep his mind of the terror of this first show. There was excitement there too, but right now it wasn't making a very good case for itself.

What if's were running through Kurt's head a mile a minute (What if they hate it, what if they just laugh at him, what if he gets sent home) and Tim's warnings about the dwindling time they have left only makes things worse.

Finally time was up and the designers were ushered out of the room and led down the hallway to another, larger room where the catwalk was set up.

After whispering some quick last minute advice to his model, Kurt followed everyone else to sit alongside the stage. On the other side sat the judges, Heidi Klum, Michael Kors, and Nina Garcia, and Kurt watched as they got their makeup touched up and flipped through their cards which he guessed has all the designers names on them.

It took longer than he expected, around ten minutes, but finally the lights dimmed, the spotlight came on, the music started, and the show began.

The first half of the show was a blur to Kurt with only a few really bad things (a hideous pink dress that was so puffy it looked like it was inflated with air and a brown dress ,that may or may not have been Gary's, which honestly looked like a potato sack) and one good thing (a short black dress that bumped out around the waist but tightened back at the thighs which had an asymmetrical line of red button going up the front) sticking out.

Then his dress entered and time slowed down.

Kurt had used the gold charmeuse to make the majority of the dress while he outlines the bodice and collar, which was high and tight around the neck, with the black charmeuse. The bottom had an especially intricate set of layers that were flowing wonderfully as Aria strutted down the runway.

He was so out of it that he almost didn't hear one girl near him whisper shit in a worried tone as his model turned around and walked the other way. But the girl's awe and Stephan's quiet congratulations from beside him were only the icing on the cake because even without them Kurt knew how well it had gone.

It was a lot easier to enjoy the show after that and Kurt payed a bit more attention to the last six or so pieces. One was an impeccably tailored pantsuit that managed to be feminine yet practical at the same time and Kurt would be shocked if it didn't make top three.

The second to last piece to come out was Blaine's dress and while the front was a little bland, the back was unexpectedly beautiful in it's simplicity. There was something very visually appealing about the color combination of the deep red bow, the sparkling silver, and the model's tan skin. But, it didn't give Kurt a sense of what Blaine was all about. It was a cute dress, one many girls would love to wear, but beyond that it fell flat.

Once the last model walked the designers left their seats and walked out onto the now empty runway and lined up in front of the judges.

Heidi cleared her throat as if everyones attention wasn't already on her. "Will the following designers please step forward... Gary, Harry, Sam, Lana, Kurt, Chantelle. If I have not called your name congratulations, your scores have qualified you to move to the next round. You may leave the runway."

Most look relieved but there were a few disappointed faces as the designers who weren't called shuffled off the stage.

"The six remaining designers have the highest and the lowest scores. One of you will be named the winner and one of you will be out. Let's bring out your models."

The models came out to stand in front of their respective designer and Kurt was relieved to see that Gary's dress was in fact the sad looking brown one and Lana's was the puffy pink monster. He had no doubts now that his was in the top three, perhaps even the best of them all.

"Chantelle, let's start with you," Heidi said.

After a multitude of excuses and a long-winded defense of her over-the-top accessorizing, the judges finally moved on. Next up was Harry and his admittedly fabulous pants suit. It was the only non-dress which made it stand out even further. It was fitted to perfection, the deep v neckline showed just the right amount cleavage, and the faint, navy lines that ran diagonally on the jacket gave it that extra oomph.

The judges loved it and Kurt's jaw clenched as Harry preened. He didn't even have to meet the guy to know he was a pompous ass.

Sam's half shredded, apocalyptic looking dress was also deemed in the top but it received no where near the praise Harry's did; she was more complimented on following directions and showing her personal style than the quality of her garment. Then Gary and Lana were both destroyed by the judges, and Michael delivered a serious blow to the former with a sure to become famous one liner, "If that piece truly represents you as a designer then this will be the easiest decision we've ever had to make!"

And then finally, finally, it was Kurt's turn. "And lastly, Kurt," Heidi said sweetly. "Tell us how this represents you as a designer."

"Okay well, the first thing I knew I wanted to include was layers of some kind because that's sort of my signature if you will. Heaven forbid you ever find photos of my highschool days," Kurt began, pulling a chuckle from the judges, "but if did you would see that even back then I loved to incorporate them. And beyond that, I wanted my design to be feminine, but not in the overly stereotypical way."

To this day Kurt still gets comments on his feminicity and while the intentions often leave him hurting, the actual words don't bother him. He learned long ago that fashion has no gender and that's something he tries to bring to the table in his clothing.

"Women don't need to flash their chests or wear bows in their hair to look amazing, and that's what I wanted to show."

"Well Kurt," Heidi paused, drawing out the answer. Of course Kurt knew for sure he was in the top three now, but to the degree of their liking he wasn't sure. "I for one loved this dress. It's absolutely stunning, and there was such great movement!"

"Yes!" Michael chimed in. "The skirt flowed beautifully as it walked down. But what really got me is the bodice. The back outlining is fabulous and- what is it made from?"

"Charmeuse," Kurt answered. "The entire thing is made out of it actually."

"Wow," Nina said with raised eyebrows as she scribbled down something on her notepad. "That's quite a difficult fabric to work with."

Kurt nodded and smiled but didn't say anything. He was so happy he was actually having a hard time keeping his composure. They liked- no, they loved it! Actual icons in the fashion world were looking at something he made and liked it. They weren't judging him as his teachers had, like he was a student, a beginner, but as a real life designer which, he supposed, he now was.

"And the collar too, just fantastic," Heidi said. "Okay, we've heard what you've had to say," Heidi started, now addressing the group, "now we're going to have a little chat before calling you back. Thanks, you may leave the runway."

As the six of them entered the waiting room the other designers were quick to sniff out who was in the top and bottom. Well, there was no sniffing necessary when it came to Harry because he felt the need to announce to the group that he was the most likely candidate to win.

"I mean, they liked Kurt's," he conceded with barely a glance in his direction, "but I don't think it was in any competition with how well they liked mine."

Kurt refused to stoop to his level, especially with a camera watching because it would do him no favors in the industry if he became known as a hot head, so he settled for an eyeroll. On the tail end of it he caught Blaine's gaze and he matched with an eyeroll of his own which had Kurt biting back a smile.

Half an hour later Tim came into the room and told the six of them to go back out there because the judges had made their decision. Kurt had been surprisingly calm during the break but now his heart felt like it was about to explode out of his chest.

Once they lined up again, Heidi spoke the famous words, that would be accompanied by the dramatic music when the show aired, "One of you will be named the winner and one of you will be out." Then, after a pause, "Sam, you're in, you may leave the runway."

Okay, that's what Kurt expected, it was always between him and Harry.

"And now for the winner of this challenge. Congratulations..." Kurt was afraid he wouldn't even be able to hear Heidi's response because his heartbeat was so loud in his ear but then, "Kurt! You are the winner of this challenge and will have immunity and cannot be eliminated next week. Thank you, you may leave the runway."

"Thank you," Kurt breathed out, later wondering if the judges even heard it, and he left the stage.

Taking a deep breath, he reached for the door that led to the waiting room. He couldn't even describe what he was feeling right now, all he knew is that it was one of the happiest moments of his life.

The designers looked at him curiously as he walked in and suddenly Kurt was reminded that they didn't yet know who won. "I won," he said, and the words made his smile grow even bigger. Blaine was halfway off the couch and looked as if he was going to make his way to Kurt when another pair of arms caught him by surprise.

"Oh!" he exclaimed, and over Stephan's shoulder he saw Blaine sit back down.

"Congratulations," Stephan said in his ear before pulling away.

"Thanks!" Kurt responded. There was an empty seat next to Blaine and after a quick internal debate he walked towards it, nodding his thanks to other people along the way.

"Great job," Blaine said with a grin as soon as he sat down. "Your dress definitely was the best."

"The judges thought so too," he responded happily, determined to soak up it all up before tomorrow. Tomorrow would be a new day with a new challenge and even with immunity Kurt couldn't let his guard down for a minute. He came here to win the entire thing, not one challenge.

Blaine laughed quietly at his response and said, "I'm just glad you won because if you hadn't then Harry would not have shut up all night."

A laugh the bubbled up inside him and Kurt must be more affected by the win than he originally thought because honestly the comment wasn't all that funny.

Chantelle came in then, clutching at her chest and thanking the lord that she was in, and she sat next to a subdued Harry who must have slunk in when Kurt was distracted. Lana came in next and with the tears in her eyes everyone thought she was a goner but it turned out they were tears of joy. So it was Gary, who entered a minute later, looking properly dejected, that got sent home.

"Gary, we're going to miss you," Tim said as he pulled the man into a hug."Now I have to send you to the workroom not to clean up your space, okay?"

"Okay, thank you, goodbye everyone!" Gary called as he left the room.

Everyone followed a few minutes later and by the time they made the quick walk back to the apartment, the only feelings Kurt had in regards to Gary was relief that he would have his own bedroom from now on.

* * *

**Sorry for all the parenthesis in the links, this site is getting better at recognizing them for what they are!**

**Kurt's piece was created by Irina Shabayeva and is the middle picture**

(images.)nymag(.com)/images/2/daily/2009/11/20091119_projectrunway_560x375(.jpg)

**Blaine's piece was created by Robert Best**

(www.)counterfeitchic(.com)/2006/09/if_ibsen_were_a_project_runway(.php)


	3. Chapter 2

**So I'm afraid this one is quite a bit shorter than last time and not all that exciting but it's necessary all the same! Things will pick back up next chapter and it's actually one of my favorites so stay tuned!**

**Also, if you don't watch the show, you should know that they do mini interviews with the designers which they air during the show. **

**Oh and Kurt's and Blaine's garments are posted at the bottom again btw**

* * *

"This week's challenge is..." Kurt paused dramatically and then looked straight into the camera while saying, "purple! Any and all things purple."

"So what does purple mean to you?" the interviewer asked.

"To me, purple is the color of royalty." Kurt was sure to restate the question in his answer because he'd been told when the clips air the interviewer will be left out completely. He also tried to keep his answers short but memorable because they'll more likely make the cut that way.

After he answered a couple more question he went to join the other designers who were standing in the lobby with Tim. Once they all arrived, Tim led them to Mood.

Kurt had shopped at Mood plenty of times before this of course, but there was something thrilling about seeing the other shoppers stop and stare as they entered, camera crew in tow, and knowing the jealousy he once felt was now directed at him.

* * *

Blaine was torn between shoving his hands in his pockets to keep them warm or using them to try and rub some feeling back into his arms. The walk to Mood might be short and it may be June but with the wind whipping through his light t-shirt it was chilly. Unlike most of his fellow designers, Blaine didn't dress the to nines on work days. There was too much running around and the room was too stuffy to be wearing anything more than casual attire.

And, truth be told, Blaine wasn't big into actually wearing fashionable clothes. After three years of the Dalton blazer Blaine found himself in college with far less clothes than he needed and no idea what his style was. Eventually he found it in on the preppier side of things, with cardigans and collared shirts and the occasional bowtie, and while that served him well through college, he was feeling a little out of place here with how generic it seemed.

"... yeah they were really going at apparently. Well, Davis was making noise that Stephan was exaggerating, and I didn't talk to Kurt, but something definitely went down!"

"Wait, what about Kurt?" Blaine asked without thinking. At the strange look Alexander gave him he quickly glanced over his shoulder but Kurt was near the edge of the group walking by himself.

"Rumor is him and Stephan got down and dirty last night since Kurt's bedroom was open with Gary gone," the girl Alexander was talking to piped in.

"Seriously?" Blaine unconsciously looked over his shoulder again at Kurt but turned back just as quickly.

"Mhmm,'' she affirmed with a giggle.  
"You okay man? You look like you're going to be sick..."

"Yeah, no, I'm fine," Blaine assured Alexander but he didn't contribute anything else to the conversation.

Obviously it wasn't his business who Kurt hung around with or what they did together but it didn't dull the unpleasant feeling in his chest. Blaine knew he fell fast but this was completely ridiculous; a few short conversations over the course of two days shouldn't be affecting him in this way.

A laugh rang from a few feet away and when Blaine realized it was Stephan's he couldn't help but grind his teeth together in irritation.

* * *

Kurt left Mood with a general feeling of satisfaction even if he'd come away with a few bruises. With purple having to be the main color showcased this week, fabric choices were limited and elbows were flying.

The only thing tainting this day was his behavior last night. Kurt had been drunk off his win (and perhaps that celebratory wine too) and did some things he regretted. The regret didn't come from what was actually done because, despite what Stephan was obviously insinuating, he didn't sleep with the guy, but Kurt hated himself for allowing something to distract him from why he's really here. Plus, there was always the possibility this was mentioned when the show aired and he would forever look unprofessional.

Kurt allowed himself to be filled with these thoughts on the way back to Parson's but once he entered that door he shut them all out. With only twenty four hours to make this garment, he needed to stay focused.

And he did a good job of staying focused until sometime in the late afternoon when a strangled cry and a loud bang pulled him from his reverie. Kurt startled, and then became concerned, quickly looking around to see what the cause was. He found it a few seconds later and had to stifle his laughter, something not many other people did.

Blaine was lying in a heap, fabric pooled around his feet, needles everywhere, looking dazed and confused as another designer, Alexander Kurt thought, ran over to help him up. Once Blaine got up, he gave a little wave and bowed a couple times making everyone laugh again. The camera crew was also laughing as Blaine mockingly begged and pleaded for them to delete the footage.

Smiling, Kurt turned back to his work, but his concentration was shot. Suddenly all the things Kurt had been ignoring all day, like the fact that human beings need to eat, came roaring back and refused to go away. So after placing a few more pins in Kurt grabbed a turkey sandwich from the communal fridge and entered the break room.

Sitting by himself at one of the tables was Blaine and Kurt immediately went over to him.

"Hey, mind if I sit?" Kurt asked, setting his stuff down without waiting for a response.

"Uh," Blaine stuttered, "I actually just finished so I was going to leave."

Kurt surveyed the table, taking in the unopened water bottle and the barely eaten sandwich before forcing a smile and nodding. "Sure, of course, no problem." He then busied himself with fixing his sandwich and pretended not to be watching Blaine out of the corner of his eye.

Blaine hesitated for a good thirty seconds until Kurt coughed slightly and that seemed to spur him into action. "Yeah, sorry bye."

* * *

Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid! Blaine mentally berated himself all the way back to his station and then for some time after that. He couldn't believe he had just blown Kurt off in that way, especially since there was no way Kurt hadn't seen through his excuse.

It was just... he had panicked! When he saw Kurt all he could think about was that he had been with Stephan and how much that hurt and how it didn't make any sense that it hurt and then there was also that fact that he had just feel flat on his ass in front of everyone and Kurt probably thought he was a huge klutz and Stephan was so smooth and suave it was no wonder Kurt had gone for him.

But that was no excuse for how rude he had been. Blaine thought back to all the years at Dalton and all the etiquette lessons and it made him feel even worse about his behavior. If there was one thing he always prided himself on it was his politeness and now he didn't even have that.

He should apologize, of course he should, but he just couldn't force himself to. First off, there was a small chance Kurt didn't notice anything and his apology would just bring to light his rudeness. And beyond that, it seemed like such a small, trivial thing to be getting worked up about. Even if Kurt had noticed, he probably brushed it off with a second thought, which is exactly what Blaine should be doing.

Blaine wasn't a stranger to feeling this overwhelmed but he couldn't just cool off with the punching bag for a few hours like he usually did. So instead he propped his elbows on the table, put his head in his hands, and did a few deep breathing exercises.

When he resurfaced fifteen minutes later he was thankfully feeling refreshed, focused, and ready to work.

* * *

Kurt was in a sour mood for the rest of the day but it wasn't, he insisted, because Blaine had ditched him earlier. In fact, he refused to even think about the man for the rest of the competition.

Then, when Tim started making his rounds, Kurt perked up, looking forward to their chat and figuring it would be as positive as last time, but he was severely disappointed.

"I don't know... it just seems a bit prom dress to me," Tim mused.

Kurt could hear Harry from two tables away laughing loudly but he refused to give him the satisfaction of acknowledging him.

"Is it the waistband?" Kurt wondered aloud, trying to see what Tim saw.

"Yes," Tim said with a nod, "I would do something different with that. The color is lovely by the way."

"Thanks," Kurt said, relieved that Tim liked something at least.

"Well, make it work!" Tim uttered with a clap of his hands and then he was gone.

Kurt pulled his sketchbook back out and got to work on how he could fix the waist area. Now that he was looking at it objectively, the straight across band did leave a little to be wanted. He couldn't get rid of it all together though because then it would just be a plain, long, plum dress. An impeccably made plain, long, plum dress, but still just that.

He was messing with the fabric, pulling it and pinching it, when he stumbled across the idea. He'd keep the whole band, because it'd be hard to separate it from the dress at this point anyway, but he'd drape a piece of fabric over part of it so it would have some variety.

It was a risk, barely changing it the dress after Tim's less than praising review, but if there was one thing Kurt had learned over the years was not to doubt himself; enough other people did that for him.

* * *

On the rare occasion that Blaine had watched Project Runway as a kid, the runway was always his favorite part. The other hour of the show seemed to be mostly drama between the designers, and while he wasn't opposed to that, he had other tv shows for it. When he watched the show he did it only for the clothes, which seemed to be the focus in only the last twenty minutes or so.

True to his previous preferences, the runway was also his favorite part of being on the show. Seeing all the breathtaking (and, admittedly, not so breathtaking) pieces reminded Blaine of why he liked designing so much in the first place: it was art. People could argue against it all they wanted, but nothing they said could ever change that in Blaine's mind.

This time, Blaine's dress was one of the first garments to come down the runway, and Blaine could see it shocked some of the other designers. He thought they would have all seen it in the workroom but perhaps some others, like himself, held off from looking around too much so the runway would be even more fun to watch.

The reason for the surprise was because Blaine's dress wasn't purely purple. Actually, it arguably wasn't even half purple. Yes, purple was definitely showcased in the dress, but there was also white and blue and pink. Blaine was one of only a couple that didn't use a solid color, and the only one to use a floral print.

Tim had echoed Blaine's concerns that it wasn't purple enough, but in the end they both decided he should stick with it (not that he had much choice, it was the only fabric he had). Now it was all up to the judges and their interpretation.

As the show continued, Blaine was struck again, as he had been last week, by just how talented all these people were. It amazed and also scared him that up until now none of these people had any luck breaking into the business. He couldn't just casually decide to become a designer, he knew it would it take an absorbent amount of dedication and luck, and he still wasn't sure if that's what he even wanted to do.

But that's why he was here, he kept reminding himself; to figure if this was the thing for him.

* * *

Blaine chewed his lip as he stood on the runway, wishing the camera crew would get set up so the judges could get on with it. Finally they gave the okay and Heidi began to speak.

"Harry, Sadie, Mary Jane, Alexander, Lana, and Stephan, please step forward. If I haven't called your name, congratulations, your scores have qualified you to move onto the next round. You may leave the runway."

Blaine smiled brightly, nodding his thanks at the judges, and followed the rest of the people not called off the stage. Being in the middle was something Blaine was comfortable with as it's where he fit all his life. He was never the worst at things, but he was never the best either. Being average was safe, it was comfortable, and it was where he belonged.

* * *

Kurt silently fumed as he entered the waiting room with the rest of the safe people. This may be his first time being safe but he already knew he hated it. When you're not the top or bottom three, the judges don't comment individually on your piece, so how are you supposed to improve? It was just like tieing in a game; and to Kurt it was worse than losing. Well, in actuality Kurt would much rather be safe then go home, but it still irked him greatly to be in this position.

* * *

"They liked mine," Alexander whispered excitedly to Blaine as he sat down next to him.

"That's awesome!" Blaine responded with all sincerity.

Alexander chattered on, filling in Blaine about what all the judges comments were, but Blaine found his thoughts, and eventually his eyes, drifting.

"You've got it bad, don't you?" Alexander said with a giant smirk.

"I- what?" Blaine asked, doing his best to sound completely confused.

"I can see the appeal," he said seriously, ignoring Blaine's response. "But don't worry about competition from me, I've got a man waiting for me at home. Stephan however... well he seems to be getting pretty cozy over there and after the rumors going around from the other night it may be a lost cause."

"I'm not- I mean I don't- he's just-"

"Blaine," Alexander cut him off sternly, "I may have only known you for a few days, but anyone could see the interest you've taken in Kurt. Now while I for one think you should be focusing on the competition, if you are going to go for it, you better make a move soon. That's one hot piece of ass and even if Stephan doesn't get on it, I'm sure someone else will."

Blaine had no response to that so he opted for subtly watching Kurt and Stephan out of the corner of his eye. Stephan was sitting close, extremely close, to Kurt and he kept whispering things in his ear. To Blaine's secret pleasure, Kurt seemed annoyed by the attention, so maybe the rumor weren't true after all.

* * *

Kurt was seriously getting sick of tired of Stephan's behavior right now. He had some nerve being all over Kurt in public like this when he'd spent the last two days spreading lies about the two of them. The extent of how far they went that night was a sloppy, fifteen minute make out, that ended with an angry Stephan after Kurt refused to go any farther.

It wasn't that Kurt hadn't had one night stands, but this wasn't the time or place for one. And if Stephan's reaction was anything to go by, he wasn't the type of guy Kurt wanted to sleep with even if it was only for one night.

Kurt was suddenly shaken out of his thoughts but Stephan leaning in to whisper something into his ear again and that was the last straw.

"I'm going to the bathroom," he told him and left without another word.

By the time he got back the top and bottom three, which included Stephan, had left the room again. His seat had been taken, however, and the only one left was a spot near Blaine. Kurt decided it would be more awkward not to sit down so he took a deep breath and gingerly sat on the edge of the couch, facing away from Blaine. Then, in an uncharacteristic display of outgoingness, Kurt started up a conversation with the women on his other side, Emmy.

Kurt was able to keep occupied until all the judges made their decisions (Harry won and Sadie was sent home) and he was even able to ignore the soft call of his name as they left the building to go to their apartments.

* * *

**Questions, comments, problems? I'd love to hear them!**

**Kurt's piece (by Wen Wu):** fannycrown(.com)/formal-dresses/shop-by-collection/collection-2010-autumn-winter/magnific-celebrity-dress-evening-dress(.html)

**Blaine's piece (by ****Diane von Fürstenberg)**:(1.)(bp.)blogspot(.com)/_ssxt7LgBqD4/S_srCTmueJI/AAAAAAAAABI/GaR1AeLMtGE/s1600/dvf+purple+floral+silk+dress(.jpg)


	4. Chapter 3

**The outfit that Blaine designs in this chapter was created by none other than my very talented cousin Robin Owens. She designed and created the piece for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Teen Stylin' competition which is a design competition for middle and high school students. You can find her on tumblr at the url blurtanderson and I suggest if you like her dress you should go over there and tell her!**

**Well hope you guys like this chapter and if you have any suggestions/comments/questions let me know!**

* * *

When the car stopped in front of a tiny store named Spin Blaine was sure there was some sort of mistake. Surely this couldn't be where they were actually going...

But Tim was standing there along with another camera crew (apparently the one in his face the entire ride over wasn't enough) so Blaine was forced to face the music.

"Hello designers," Tim said with an almost manic grin. "I'm sure you're all wondering why we are standing in front of this darling little place. " Many of the designers grumbled their agreement although Blaine's sure they'd all pretty much figured it out by now. "With so much of the music industry happening online these days, Spin was opened by Annie and Tim" - a young couple off to Tim's left, presumably Annie and Tim, waved at the mention - "a few years ago in an attempt to keep the tactile side of music alive.

"But getting to the reason we're here," Tim continued, "today Spin will be host to our unconventional challenge!"

Unconventional challenges were just how they sounded; unconventional. Instead of using normal fabric, the designers were forced to create a garment out of other materials.

"Now as I'm sure you all are aware, music and fashion are very interconnected. Not only does music accompany and set the mood during runways shows, but many lines are based off pieces of music. For this challenge, along with creating an outfit, you will choose a song that relates to or inspires your piece in some way. The chosen song will be played as your piece goes down the runway but make sure you pick a song with meaning and not one that just sounds nice.

"Everybody got it? Excellent! Annie and Tim have graciously lent out their store today so you will have 20 minutes and fifty dollars to find the materials for your garment in there. But first, the next thirty minutes will be sketching time, so get to work!"

Everyone quickly dispersed once Tim was done speaking and began frantically sketching but again Blaine found himself stuck. This should be an easy challenge for him. Not because it's unconventional, he's actually a bit worried about that since he'd never made an outfit out of anything but fabric before, but because it incorporated music. Music was the focus of his life for a long time, and although it'd been pushed to the side in recent years, he still loved it with a passion.

Blaine heard a couple of the other contestants grumbling about coming up with a song and he's again thankful for all his experience with this subject. With access to the internet being outlawed during all parts of the competition, the song chosen will have to come from memory.

When Tim called time up for planning and opened the door to the shop madness ensued. This little store was not made to have thirteen people plus a camera crew running amok in it and it wasn't long before a shelf was knocked over. After that people calmed down a bit by necessity but it was still incredibly hard for Blaine to think.

Without any real direction, he found himself walking the aisles aimlessly until he saw a package of blank cds. He'd seen some cds with actual music on them near the front but there hadn't been a ton. Vinyl records seemed to be the preferred medium of music in the store.

It was risky but Blaine decided it was time to go big or go home, literally. Doing some quick calculations he grabbed four packs of the cds (which would equal out to forty individual disks) and used the rest of the money to buy rolls and rolls of gorilla tape which was found near the front of the store.

He checked out before he could chicken out and ended up using every bit of money he was given.

With ten minutes to spare, Blaine felt an almost magnetic pull to the back of the store where a baby grand was on display. He'd forced himself to ignore it earlier so he could focus on shopping but it hadn't strayed far from his mind. It had only been a couple days since he was at home with his own piano but it felt much longer than that. Josh, his roommate, complained all the time about how often he played, especially when he was trying to watch TV, but Blaine knew it was done jokingly.

Blaine ducked under the thin rope surrounding the piano and sat on the bench, his entire being finding comfort simply by sitting there. When he closed his eyes he was no longer in a store surrounded by strangers but in his own living room on a lazy Sunday afternoon.

"What are you playing?"

Blaine hadn't even registered he was playing at all but his fingers were indeed flying softly across the keys. "Uh, I don't exactly know," he said, bringing his hand up to rub the back of his neck.

"Oh don't stop on my account," Kurt said quickly. "You looked so relaxed."

"I was," he said, finally looking at the man. "Playing, it's comforting for me."

"You're really good."

Blaine scoffed quietly. "Now how could you know that just from hearing that little bit."

"I can just tell," Kurt responded, a smile lighting his face.

Kurt was hovering still behind the rope but seemed to be leaning towards him, as if he wanted to get closer. Blaine scooted over a little on the bench leaving the option open and Kurt took it. As soon as he sat down Kurt's hands instinctively went to rest on the keys and Blaine raised an eyebrow.

"You play?"

"A little," he said with a shrug. His finger took up playing a familiar tune and Blaine let out a breathy laugh before joining in.

"My brother taught me how to play this when we were kids. I thought he wanted to spend some quality time together but he actually just did it so he could impress his girlfriend with his playing skills."

"Hmm, he seems like quite the charmer," Kurt said flatly.

"Alright designers time's up!" Tim's voice brought Blaine back to reality and he reluctantly followed Kurt back outside, throwing one last glance at the piano over his shoulder.

Most people had gone for the more usable items, like sheet music and posters and soft guitar cases, and Blaine tried not to let his worry show. He could see the other designers eyeing his cds and tape with curiosity and amusement.

If he could pull this off though, there's no way wouldn't win.

* * *

Although it wasn't often advertised, using muslin for these types of challenges was allowed. Kurt didn't want to do that however. The most impressive garments were the ones that looked great and were made straight from the weirdest materials possible. A lot of people went with cop out materials like paper or just made something out of muslin and glued on a bunch of crazy stuff as a way to sort of avoid the challenge.

Kurt knew it would be smarter to do that, because if his idea didn't pan out he would almost certainly be sent home, but it wasn't in his nature to play it safe.

The material Kurt decided to work with was firewire cables. He had been surprised they were even sold in the store considering their pretentious attitude towards the technological side of music but he wasn't complaining. Not only would it allow for a big wow factor (the shiny silver color of the wires gave it an extra punch), but it also held the needed symbolic resonance.

Connections.

Kurt realized he was different from most kids his age pretty early on and it led to a lot of lonely nights with only his dad for company . He had acquaintances, and people he could chat with at school, but it wasn't until he joined glee club that he made true, lasting friendships. Their love of music brought them together even when they didn't have much else in common.

Then, when Kurt got to New York, fashion did the same thing. In the weeks before he got his job at Vogue, Rachel was pretty much the only person he talked to. It seemed that while he fit better in New York, he was still too different. But then the Vogue internship fell into his lap and suddenly he was in a world with people who had the same goals and interests as him and he finally felt like he belonged somewhere.

Fashion and Music were the two things that really allowed Kurt to connect with other people so it fit perfectly with the theme for this challenge.

As for the song, it had taken all of about thirty seconds for Kurt to choose Not the Boy Next Door. It had basically been his anthem when he first came to New York and even if there were some bad memories associated with it (the failed audition) there were some good ones too (Carmen Tibideaux's praise).

This was going to be a good challenge for Kurt, he could feel it.

* * *

Well, Blaine thought, here it is, the moment of truth. If Tim hated it then he was completely screwed. He had no other materials and nowhere to go. The bodice was almost finished and Blaine was extremely proud of it, he just hoped Tim would be too.

"Blaine," he gasped as he approached, "that's stunning. What's it made from?"

Blaine ducked his head to hide the smile and look of relief. Tim hadn't even done his normal intro. "I took a bunch of cds," he said, gesturing to the boxes that surrounded him, "broke them up, and glued them to the cardboard shell underneath." Since the cds were facing backside up, the result was a shiny, multicolored, top that sparkled in the light.

"That's amazing," Tim muttered and he circled the piece. "What's your plan for the bottom?"

"I was thinking black down the middle and then more of the cd piece along the sides?"

"Yes, good, go with god." Then he straightened back up and said more seriously, "Don't doubt yourself, you have great vision and you don't need anyone else to tell you that."

Blaine nodded and thanked him, practically glowing from all the praise. He was so excited to keep working on his garment that he had to leave the room to stop himself from doing any more. Until his model got there and he made sure everything fit he didn't want to go any further. Finally Anita arrived and after gushing over the dress she tried it on and it fit perfectly.  
Once that was over Blaine was able to get back to work and work he did, even if his thoughts kept drifting to Kurt.

They're conversation earlier had been pleasant but definitely a surprise. He'd tried to talk to him, to apologize, the night before but Kurt had ignored him entirely and Blaine didn't blame him for that. The turnaround though, the fact that he sought Blaine out to talk to him, it was confusing.

And worst of all it did nothing to help Blaine get over his feelings for him. His stupid, distracting, feelings.

* * *

"Will the following designers please step forward... Kurt, Blaine, Mary Jane, Alexander, Danielle, Austin."

A rush of pleasure surged through him as his name is called because Kurt knew there was no way he was in the bottom. His dress was sexy and cool and blew the competition out of the water. Well, besides Blaine that was. His had looked amazing as it came down the runway, shimmering in the light, and he would get an a plus for using difficult materials. Rumour had it he used only cds and masking tape which was crazy considering how professional it looked.

Blaine was called first to explain and Kurt perked up because he was desperate to know the meaning behind Blaine's song choice. Kurt had recognized Barbara's The Way We Were the second it started playing and he wondered if Blaine had based his piece on some old flame.

"Blaine you're up first, tell us about your piece," Heidi said.

Blaine took a deep breathe and began, "Music has been a big part of my life ever since I was a little kid. I used to spend hours holed up in my room listening to my cd collection. A collection I still have even though cds are neither modern enough to be convenient or old enough to be cool."

He let out a self deprecating laugh at that, a sound Kurt was coming to find way too cute for his liking. Kurt had been all ready to forget Blaine and keep his distance when he'd heard him playing in Spin. Nothing of what he planned mattered after that because Kurt couldn't walk away from him then. As Kurt had watched he'd seen how much the music was a part of Blaine, how passionate he was about it, and he knew he'd regret if he didn't find out a least a little bit more about him.

"So that's what these pieces are," Blaine said as he pointed to the bodice, "bits of broken up cds."

The judges hummed and tittered and leaned forward in their seats to get a closer look.

"And those are on the skirt too?" Nina asked as she shielded her eyes from the bright stage lights with her note card.

"Yes, except they're a different kind which is why they look slightly different."

"The effect is amazing, especially when it was coming down runway and all the lights were bouncing off it," Heidi said.

Blaine offered a shy smile and a thank you in response.

"So tell us about your song choice," Michael prompted.

"Oh right! I chose the song The Way We Were by Barbra Streisand and well, I know the song is actually about like an old lover, but I applied it more to missing my past and childhood and stuff. Things were so much easier before-" Blaine cut off and seemed to hesitate before saying, "I mean, just, life was easier as a kid you know? So basically all the cds and this song brought me back to my childhood in a way."

Kurt tuned out partially after that to focus on his own speech to the judges. It was no secret that sob stories often gave you a leg up and while Kurt liked to think his design would be enough, there was no harm in giving himself a little boost. Now he wasn't going to lie about anything, he wasn't that desperate, but he wouldn't censor himself either. Interestingly enough, it seemed like Blaine did. Kurt wondered what he was going to say before he unceremoniously cut himself off.

Mary Jane also received praise from the judges, earning her the second spot in the top three, for her dress made from a soft guitar case, and Kurt began to sweat a little bit. But then the next two, Alexander and Austin, were knocked down and looking over at Danielle's poorly constructed sheet music dress, Kurt knew he had it made.

His dress was tight along the chest and gradually got wider, forming perfect circles, until it stopped at the model's upper to mid thigh. He would have liked to extend it a little further but he ran out of cables. At the last minute, to make sure it stayed on, he added a simple criss-cross halter strap, made from wire, that clipped onto the previously strapless bodice.

"Kurt, tell us about your look."

"Connections," Kurt proclaimed, straightening his shoulders and widening his smile. "I never really fit in as a kid, especially after coming out in a town like Lima, Ohio, but my love of music allowed me to meet people and bond with them. Then, when I came to New York, fashion did the same thing. And so I chose the song Not the Boy Next Door, by Hugh Jackman, because it reminds me of how far I've come and that this," he gestured around him, "is what I'm meant to be doing."

"And it's made out of..." Michael trailed off.

"Firewire cables," Kurt said. "They connect things, get it?"

"Very clever," Heidi said with a small laugh. "And the effect is gorgeous, how'd you make it?"

"I coiled the wire so the shape would gradually grow and super glued it all together."

"The only thing I would say is it's a little short," Nina said.

"I agree," said Michael.

Kurt was about to chime in that he wanted to make it longer when Heidi said, "I don't know, with the strap making it more conservative on the top I don't mind seeing a bit leg."

As the judges continued with their critique Kurt realized that he had a good chance of winning this challenge. Mary Jane wasn't going to win, that was clear, so it was between him and Blaine. The scary part was, he didn't want to win nearly as much as he should have.

* * *

Blaine decided if he had one hour left to live he would go the the Project Runway waiting room because that would ensure it would be the longest hour of his life. He didn't even get to talk to Kurt because he was sitting across the room and it would be weird if he broke the hushed tone to shout something at him. Alexander was pouting next to him because of the judge's criticism even though Blaine has assured him there was no way he was going home. That fate was going to fall upon Austin.

Austin had bought a bunch of t-shirts from Spin and then ripped them up and made a dress out of them. Not only was the result hideous but there was also question of whether he cheated by using real fabric instead of some alternative material. In Blaine's mind he was already a goner.

As for the winner... he was trying not to think about it. Blaine couldn't deny that he wanted the win, and wanted it badly. He took a big chance with this challenge,refused to play it safe, and he wanted that to pay off.

When thirty minutes had passed Tim told them the judges had made their decision and the six of them left to room together. Blaine was able to whisper good luck to Kurt as they entered the stage and Kurt wished him the same.

The winner was always decided first because it wasn't as exciting to watch as the person being sent home and Blaine could barely keep still as Heidi read off the opening line.

"Mary Jane... you're safe, you may leave the runway," Heidi finally said.

So it was between him and Kurt, just like he expected. Blaine glanced over and met Kurt's eyes for a split second before turning back to face the judges.

"And the winner of this week's project runway is... Blaine."

White noise filled Blaine's ears and a warm feeling shot through him. I won, I won, I really won. Years of lukewarm responses to his accomplishments from his parents made every recognition Blaine did get feel even better. His lips were cracking his smile was so wide and he squeaked out his thanks before leaving the runway. On the way out he passed Kurt who squeezed his hand and congratulated him with a genuine smile on his face.

The waiting room suddenly seemed much brighter and happier than before. The girls, and some of the guys, cooed at his shell shocked expression and he quickly closed his gaping mouth. But the best part was Kurt's celebratory hug. Blaine immediately melted into it, and he probably held it too long, especially considering the cameras were on them, but Kurt smelled so good and his head fit perfectly on his shoulder and Kurt didn't seem to want to let go either.

When Alexander came in, safe for another week, Blaine made a big show of hugging him too but he's not sure anyone was fooled. At least Alexander hadn't seen it because then he wouldn't have heard the end of it. Austin did get sent home and Blaine was honestly sad to see him go. He was a nice guy and he'd much rather share an apartment with him than Harry.

"Hey, congrats again," Kurt said as he slowed down to walk with Blaine.

"Thanks! Your dress was really great too you know."

Kurt hummed in agreement and silence fell. But after only a few seconds he broke it. "What were you going to say earlier on the runway? It was something about things being easier before?"

Blaine startled a bit but tried not to show it. He hadn't wanted to jinx anything so he didn't prepare what he was going to say before the runway show and that turned out to be a mistake. This was Kurt though, not the thousands of viewers, so he could tell him. "I- I was going to say that things were easier before I came out. I stopped myself though because I didn't want it to seem like my parents were cruel or anything. They still loved me after I came out and everything... they were just a little more distant."

Blaine paused but Kurt just nodded at him to continue so he did. "I actually grew up in Ohio too," Blaine said and Kurt made a surprised noise, "in Westerville, but bully in school wasn't my main concern. After an incident freshman year I transferred to an all boys school, Dalton Academy, which had a strict no bullying policy. So the main difference really came at home. It was like- my parents- it's not that they didn't want me home but-" Blaine groaned and ran a hand through his hair. For some reason he just couldn't find the right words. Everything he tried made it seem like his parents were awful people.

Taking a deep breath he started again, "Dalton was a boarding school and even though I only lived about thirty minutes away I stayed there. And even on the weekend my parents were never begging for me to come home. I could if I wanted to of course, but they, especially my dad, didn't really encourage it."

"Blaine," Kurt said softly, squeezing his hand again, "I'm sorry."

Blaine dug his hands into his pocket and shrugged. "It's not really a big deal, people have it much worse."

"'Even if somebody else has it much worse, that doesn't really change the fact that you have what you have.'"

"... Did you just quote The Perks of Being a Wallflower at me?" Blaine asked, his tone teasing.

"I might have," Kurt said, a smile lighting his face.

Blaine chuckled softly and the grin didn't fade until he drifted off the sleep that night.

* * *

**I don't have a design for Kurt's because I just came up with the dress in my head so sorry!**

**Here's the link for Blaine's dress (by Robin Owens): **imfeelinghellagood(.tumblr)(.com)/post/44090080572/the-first-is-blaines-dress-from-the-story-minus


	5. Chapter 4

**For all you parched readers out there I think this chapter is just what you've been waiting for... aka a reminder that this story is rated M.**

**Also, question time. I know I don't indent my paragraphs/dialogue, and I don't because for some reason it won't let me on this site, but I want to know, does that make it difficult to read? Because if it does I can easily start indenting. **

**Okay here's the chapter :)**

* * *

Blaine bit his lip and cleared his throat, vying for time. He knew what they wanted him to say but it just wasn't in his nature to do so. On the other hand, he hated disappointing people, and he could see the encouraging look on the producers face. Blaine heard Kurt doing the same thing just a few tables away and apparently he had no trouble opening up. He wasn't being mean by any stretch of the imagination, but he was giving his full, uncensored opinion.

"Umm well," Blaine finally said, "we definitely have a different style, I like to use color and she obviously doesn't, but I think her designs are fantastic and..." he trailed off when he saw the exasperated if fond look on Joe, the camera man's, face. The producer seemed less forgiving but he didn't say anything as he walked away. "Sorry," Blaine said with a chuckle but Joe was quick to wave it away.

"It's not a problem Blaine, plenty of other designers have said antagonizing things that they can use to beef up the drama factor. Why don't you just focus on summarizing today's challenge for us."

Blaine nodded, feeling relieved, and waited for the signal to start talking. "This week's challenge is based around the four classic elements: water, earth, fire, and air. Everyone was assigned one element to master- I guess the avatar isn't among the contestants this year."

The joke was lame, Blaine knew that, but the blank looks he got were worse than he expected. He was embarrassed enough that he about to tell them to cut that part (although from the reaction they were probably planning to anyway) when he heard muffled laughter from across the room. Blaine turned back to the camera with a wide smile and tried not to get too excited. If Kurt found his joke funny then he couldn't care less what anyone else thought.

When the interview was over Blaine took his time packing up his stuff and then meandered over to the vending machines. Kurt and a few members of the camera crew were the only ones left but from the looks of it they were getting ready to leave too. They were in a conference room on the main floor of the apartment complex and while it wasn't completely secluded, it was pretty out of the way. Especially since it was blocked off to the public for the next couple of weeks while the show was filming.

Blaine had been planning this ever since he found out the two of them would be interviewing at the same time and while it had seemed like a long shot, things might just work out. The camera crew was indeed shuffling out now, Blaine was still stalling by the vending machines, and Kurt was leaning on the table and looking over his designs. It was now or never and Blaine knew it.

As Blaine approached Kurt his heart sped up and his palms grew unusually sweaty. He didn't usually do things like this. But Kurt liked Stephan, and this seemed to be exactly what he would do, so Blaine was going to try it.

* * *

Kurt had a feeling Blaine was waiting for him considering he had been done interviewing for almost ten minutes now but as he walked towards him, and he was proved right, Kurt began to panic a bit. Once he was too close to ignore Kurt straightened up and turned to face him but before he could get a word out Blaine's lips were on his. He stumbled back with the force of it and gasped. Blaine froze, his face still inches from Kurt and his eyes wide, waiting for Kurt to make the next move.

Without wasting any time Kurt gripped the back of his head and forced their lips back together so roughly their faces collided as well. Blaine's only response was a desperate whimper however so Kurt did what he'd been dreaming about doing for days and shoved him roughly against the nearest wall. If there had been any lingering denial of Kurt's desire for this man it was gone now. Despite starting the encounter, Blaine was now loose and pliant underneath him, making the prettiest little noises as Kurt thrust his tongue into his mouth.

Blaine bucked forward and his crotch rubbed teasingly against Kurt's before he pulled back. Ripping his mouth away from Blaine's, Kurt let out a desperate moan and crowded him even closer against the wall, moving his hips in slow, deliberate circles against Blaine's. Kurt might have felt embarrassed for getting so hard so fast but Blaine was right there with him.

"Kurt, please," Blaine begged, although for what exactly Kurt wasn't sure.

Then Kurt spotted the marble shelf along the wall that was used to serve coffee. He grabbed Blaine by the waist and pulled him over to it before hoisting him up. A few paper cups went flying but the actual coffee machine was a few feet away. Blaine, finally getting the idea, spread his legs and Kurt rushed in between them and began kissing him again.

Kurt continued to thrust up against him, his breath hitching every time their cocks rubbed together. He moved his lips to Blaine's neck and began sucking and kissing up and down the length of it.

"Kurt-Kurt!" Blaine gasped. "I'm close, so close."

"Good, good" Kurt mumbled incoherently as he increased the speed of his hips. "Come on, let go."

Blaine let out an obscene moan that almost had Kurt coming on the spot as he went over the edge. Kurt shifted so he was rubbing against Blaine's thigh and waited until Blaine came back to himself.

"Here," Blaine said after a few seconds and he started fumbling with Kurt's button and zipper. When he finally got it undone he slipped his hand into Kurt's underwear and rubbed his thumb over the head of his cock before gripping it tight and pumping hard. It took less than a minute of Blaine's experienced hand before he was coming too. It took a while but eventually Blaine jumped down from the counter, his knees buckling slightly as he hit the floor. Kurt reached out to steady him and suddenly they both began laughing.

"Well that was..."

"Unexpected?" Kurt offered, still a bit dazed.

"Amazing."

Kurt hummed in agreement but as his head cleared his brow furrowed. "But no seriously, that was unexpected. I don't know, you've always just seemed like such a... gentleman."

Blaine blushed a bit and stuttered out an apology. "Sorry I just- I knew that you and Stephen- I thought that's the kind of guy you were into so I just went for it and- I'm just sorry I-"

"Blaine calm down," Kurt said laughing. "I think it's pretty safe to say I enjoyed the experience," he said with a pointed look at his stained pants."

"Oh, good," Blaine said so genuinely that Kurt couldn't even roll his eyes. "Speaking of unexpected though," Blaine continued, a familiar flirty look on his face, "I may have initiated all this put you wasted no time taking over."

Kurt turned red and looked down at his feet but didn't respond. He had learned long ago he enjoyed being dominant in all aspects of his life and he wouldn't apologize for that.

As if sensing his discomfort Blaine quickly spoke up. "I didn't mean that in a negative way at all," he assured Kurt, "in case it wasn't obvious," and now it was his turn to gesture at his pants.

Smiling, Kurt met his gaze and they simply looked at each other for a while. Kurt felt a little bad for jumping the gun but he'd met too many guys who were interested in him only until they found out he liked to top as well as bottom.

Then it suddenly clicked what Blaine had meant by the Stephan comment and Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose as he tried to find a way to address it. "But um, about Stephan, we never- just, you don't need to be someone you're not to try and impress me. I- you're a good guy," Kurt finished, feeling like an awkward teenager again.

"Oh I mean I don't even care about- but good, because I like you a lot too," Blaine said.

Kurt smiled and didn't correct him because although that's not what he said it was true.

"Tomorrow, after the runway show, since we have the afternoon off, do you want to hang out? I mean I know we can't go anywhere or do anything really but we could still just talk or something."

Kurt was shocked at the offer but knowing Blaine he really shouldn't have been. Sex was one thing but an emotional connection? That was a whole nother, more dangerous, ball park. He opened his mouth the decline the offer but it got stuck in his throat. If he was being truthful, that emotional connection was already there. Kurt couldn't stop thinking about Blaine and not just in a sexual way. Kurt cursed God or fate or whatever allowed this to happen at this time but he'd waited too long for a guy like this to show up.

"Yeah, sounds great."

* * *

Kurt could cry with frustration at this point but he fought the tears back because he didn't have time for them. He heard the fabric rip, he knew he did, but he couldn't find the spot anywhere. Finally his fingers caught the tear which was underneath his model's left arm. His fingers scrambled along his work station until he found the black thread and needle.

As he sewed it up Kurt planned what he would say if he made it to the top three. His assigned element was earth and while he'd been less than thrilled with it, he thought he did a pretty good job. His only qualm was that he didn't have time to make a jacket. The plain black top left something to be desired but the pant/skirt combo was the main focus anyway. Pants weren't something Kurt made often because they felt like a cop out. Sure it takes skill to make them but where was the creativity? Needless to say his pants weren't something ever seen before. They were black and skinny but a series of asymmetrical sheer panels that ran the length of them kept it fresh.

Soon, Tim is calling time up and ordering them out of the workroom. After rushed last minute preparation backstage (even though it's technically against the rules), Kurt finds himself sitting in his normal seat beside the runway.

The garments are walked out in order of element and water is first. Kurt had caught a few glances of Blaine's piece throughout the day but it's always different seeing it on the runway. It's a beautiful piece really, and it embodied the element so clearly in a way Kurt was afraid his didn't.

Blaine. Now that his mind was on the subject he couldn't get it to leave. In fact, he was so preoccupied he almost missed seeing his piece. As it passed by Kurt lamented again the missing jacket but overall he's satisfied. And once his model finished walking he was able to zone out again.

Kurt had been on plenty of dates before, neither Rachel nor Isabelle were able to keep their noses out of that part of his life, but this was different. Of course, there was the obvious fact that this wasn't even a real date. It was just two people spending some time together. Actually, it probably wasn't even going to be just the two of them. Whoever's apartment they went to there would be the other suitemates to deal with.

Beyond all that though, because Kurt was getting himself sidetracked, there was something different about Blaine. Kurt didn't usually open up to people because he looked at it this way: if people didn't truly know him then if they disliked him it didn't matter. So on most first dates Kurt stayed coolly calculative, held back, and felt out what the other person was like. Then, if they passed his test, on the second date he would open up a little more, and so on. To this day only one person had ever passed the second date.

But somehow Kurt already knew Blaine would pass his first date test and his second date test and all the ones to follow. It scared the shit out of him and was exhilarating all at the same time. Kurt had given up his dreams of true love and soulmates long ago but there was a part of him that would always be a romantic.

* * *

Kurt was in the top three again and Blaine waited, twiddling his thumbs, for him to come back out. His heart had swelled with pride when Kurt's name was called to step forward and Blaine let the feeling take hold without over analyzing it. It didn't matter that he'd known Kurt all of a week because he cared about the man pure and simple.

The door to the waiting room suddenly banged open and Harry stepped through breathing fire. Kurt followed behind him and made a beeline for the seat beside him.

"So..." Blaine prompted when he didn't immediately say anything.

"They liked it," Kurt said with a wide grin.

"Well duh," Blaine said, echoing the smile, "but do you think you'll win?"

"Oh, no I'm really not. They liked it but they pretty much only allotted me the top because they were glad I stepped out of my comfort zone by making pants. They mentioned you actually, they liked yours a lot, but they said it- well um, they're afraid you're a one trick pony," Kurt finished hesitantly.

Blaine wasn't offended however and mused, "Even after last challenge?"

"That's what I'm saying!" Kurt said quickly. "Who even knows with them."

Despite Kurt's reassurance Blaine filed that fact away to examine later. "So," Blaine began, changing the subject, "I couldn't help but notice you had the element earth..."

"Yeah..." Kurt responded in confusion.

"And your outfit was all black and kind of edgy..."

"Although I dislike the word edgy I suppose that would be true."

"Why do you dislike the word edgy?" Blaine asked, stopping the game for a moment.

"It's the word my step-mom uses to describe my stepbrother's friends who do bad things. She calls them that because she's too nice to call them what they really are: criminals."

A laugh tumbled out of Blaine and he shook his head. "Anyway, your element was earth, your outfit was black, and you laughed at my Avatar the Last Airbender joke the other day..."

Blaine saw the recognition in Kurt's eyes and he let out a triumph noise. "I knew it!" he exclaimed, lowering his voice as heads turned towards him. "You were inspired by the metal benders from Avatar the Last Airbender!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Kurt said, pointedly refusing to meet Blaine's eyes.

"Admit it, admit it or I'll go tell that camera man you were inspired by a children's cartoon."

Kurt narrowed his eyes, his expression turning a little more serious. "You wouldn't."

"Try me," Blaine said, getting way too close to Kurt for normal, public interaction. They both seemed to notice it at the same time and each pulled back slightly.

"Fine," Kurt sighed after Blaine refused to let it go, "I might have been a little inspired by the metal benders."

A smug smile lit Blaine's face but he refrained from rubbing it in any further. "You know, I never took you for an Avatar watching kind of guy."

"There's a lot you don't know about me, Anderson," Kurt said in a downright unfairly sexy voice.

"But that's going to change after today right?" Blaine held his breath, thankful this had come up naturally in the conversation. It felt weird to ask Kurt for conformation since it wasn't technically a date or anything but he had been dying to know if he still wanted to do it.

"Yeah, I guess it will."

Blaine hear soared by before he could respond Kurt was called back to the runway to receive the results for this challenge.

He came back a few minutes later with news of Emmy winning and Lana being sent home. It was funny to Blaine that while he already felt close to Kurt, these other names, these other people, he barely knew.

"My place or yours?" Blaine asked once they started the journey back to the apartments.

"Hmm yours, but let me change first."

Blaine nodded, thankful he would have a few minutes to brief Alexander and hopefully get him to vacate their room for the time being.

* * *

**Kurt's piece by Jillian Lewis (you'll have to imagine the tight, plain black long sleeved shirt that goes with it): **adobefashion(.wordpress)(.com)/2009/11/25/my-top-10-favorite-leggings-for-fallwinter/jlew-wp2_v1/

**Blaine's piece by Leanne Marshall:**

cfile3(.uf)(.tistory)(.com)/image/137198354D9B1FF113A400


	6. Chapter 5

**There's a lot of dialogue in this chapter so sorry if that bothers you!**

**Also I still don't own glee or any of these designs jsyk!**

* * *

The sound of his knuckles rapping on the door seemed deafening in the silent hallway and Kurt stood, waiting, trying to find a natural position for his arms to be in. He'd changed into something more casual than he usually wore, especially as of late, although compared to Blaine, who had just opened the door in clad in sweats and a t-shirt, he felt almost overdressed.

"Hey, come on in," Blaine greeted and moved aside so Kurt could walk in.

To say it was an uncomfortable moment was an understatement. Alexander was leaning on the kitchen counter and smirking at the two of them while Harry looked up from where he was filing his nails with confusion on his face as if he hadn't been warned. Technically designers of the same sex were allowed to go visit each others rooms (something Kurt found extremely amusing considering more than half the contestants were something other than straight) but apparently not many people exercised the privilege.

"Here, this way," Blaine said, motioning to the room on Kurt's left. "I got some stuff set up."

Kurt raised an eyebrow at the slight blush on Blaine's cheeks as he said it and walked towards the door. Before he could enter the room however, Alexander spoke up.

"Hey guys?" Both him and Blaine turned and then later wished they hadn't. "If you, you know, get up to anything in there, don't feel like you have to mute the volume. I've spent the last week without my boyfriend or computer so I'm feeling a little pent up if-"

Kurt didn't get to hear the rest because Blaine was practically shoving him inside and slamming the door behind him but not soon enough to miss the cackle of laughter from the kitchen area. Living with Santana for those few months when she first came to New York, and being good friends with her ever since should have desensitized Kurt to that kind of thing but his face was still heated. Blaine's was too, though, so he didn't feel that bad.

Clearing his throat loudly, Blaine finally said, "Sorry about that. He's um, he's a nice guy, really, he just likes to mess with me... especiallyaboutyou."

"What was that?" Kurt asked lightly, a smirk on his face because although he didn't hear the exact words he'd gotten the gist.

"Oh shut up," Blaine said, and just like that the ice was broken.

Blaine had evidently cleared off the two bedside tables and pushed them together to form a coffee table of sorts. On top of them was a bottle of wine, two glasses, and a plate of cheese and crackers. Blaine motioned for Kurt to sit on the bed across from him and then stood up to uncork the wine and pour them some.

"I know it would have been a bit more... comfortable to sit out there," Blaine began, referencing the common area of the apartment, "but Alexander would have been there and even if I could have gotten him to leave Harry wouldn't have just because he'd know it would bother me so-"

"Blaine, it's fine, this is really nice actually."

Blaine smiled, looking extremely pleased with himself, and sat back on the bed with his glass in hand. "So earlier you mentioned you were from Lima, did you happen to go to McKinley high?"

Kurt quickly swallowed the cheese cube he was chewing on and said, "Yeah. How did you know that?"

"My school's glee club, the Warblers, were supposed to verse your school's glee club in regionals one year but there was a last minute schedule change and we ended up competing against Vocal Adrenaline and losing."

"You were in the Warblers? I was in the New Directions! I was actually going to go spy on you guys but after the schedule change I didn't have an excuse."

"An excuse?"

"I-" Kurt fiddled with his glass for a moment before taking a swig and continuing, "I was bullied pretty severely in high school and it just kept getting worse so when I heard about Dalton and their no bullying policy it seemed like a dream come true. It was so expensive though that it felt really selfish of me to go there. And anyway, it wasn't too long after that that my teacher overheard this neanderthal threatening me and got him expelled from school. Things were much better after that."

"Come here," Blaine said, putting down his drink and opening his arms.

Kurt snorted but got up and gingerly sat next to Blaine, leaving a little distance between them, only to have Blaine close it and wrap him up in a hug a second later.

"Blaine, I'm twenty-three years old, I don't need a hug."

"Everyone needs a hug something," Blaine mumbled into his shoulder.

Despite his protests, the hug felt wonderful and warm and Kurt melted right into it. Blaine eventually did pull away but Kurt didn't go back to his side.

"What about you? I mean I heard a little about your high school life but what happened after that?"

"Well I majored in English at NYU and just graduated last month so..."  
"English?" Kurt couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice. "What were you planning on doing with that?" He wasn't be judgmental, he was just curious, as that was a notoriously hard major to find work with.

"Teach?" As soon as the word came out of Blaine's mouth he froze. "I-I mean- I don't even-" Blaine closed his mouth abruptly and sat there for a few minutes while Kurt looked on in confusion.

Taking a deep breath Blaine turned to face Kurt and started again, "Honestly? I'm not even sure where that came from. My dad wanted- wants- I don't know- for me to become a lawyer and I knew I didn't want that but all the stress kept me from thinking about what I actually wanted to do. Or, maybe I was thinking about it and I just didn't voice it to myself. Teaching... maybe that's something I would enjoy."

Kurt took Blaine's hand and squeezed gently but he was still off in his own world. After a moment or two he flopped back on the bed with an anguished noise. "I'm such a fraud," he whispered almost to himself.

Lying back with him, Kurt asked him to explain.

"It's just, thousands of people applied to be in this position, and four people have already gone home, and I'm sitting here imagining a career for myself that has nothing to do with fashion at all! The whole point of this competition is to break into the fashion world and what if I don't even want that?"

"So why did you come here then?" Kurt asked quietly.

"I never thought I would make-"

"No," he interrupted gently, "there was a reason you filled out all those forms and sent in all those pictures. Why?"

Blaine stared at the ceiling, thinking hard, before saying, "I guess because designing was the only thing besides music that I could remember really making me happy."

"Then it's a good thing you're here. You're talented Blaine, that's why the judges chose you, and you shouldn't feel guilty about that. And there are plenty of things you can do with fashion that aren't starting your own line. Maybe you can even teach design classes."

Kurt worried he was getting a bit preachy with his sappy-inspirational speech but when he caught Blaine's eye he could physically see the gratefulness in them. Blaine rolled up onto his side and leaned in to give Kurt a chaste kiss on the lips before whispering "thanks."

"And sorry to word vomit all over you on the first date." He chuckled as he said it but Kurt could see the insecurity there and felt like there was a story behind it.

"Well it's better than real vomit, which has happened on one too many first dates."

Blaine laughed again for real this time and now it was Kurt's turn to kiss him. His arms moved up and wrapped around Blaine's shoulders, pulling him closer as their lips continued to move together. It was so different than the fast and frantic last time and was much more satisfying. The wine already made Kurt's head a little fuzzy and the warmth of Blaine's arms around him soon had him drifting off.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, pulling his head back.

"Hmm?" Kurt hummed, slowly opening his eyes.

"You're about to fall asleep aren't you?"

"No I-"

"Am I really that bad a kisser?"

"What? No!" Kurt exclaimed, waking up a bit more. As he did, however, he could see the twinkle in Blaine's eye so he relaxed.

"Kidding, kidding," Blaine said with a soft smile. "Do you want to take a nap?"

"Here?"

Blaine shrugged, "Why not?"

"Are you sure you're okay with that?" Kurt asked, but he was already drifting off again. He managed to shift sideways with Blaine so their heads were on the pillow and they could get under the blankets. He was still wear jeans and a vest but he couldn't be bothered to change now. Blaine had left to go bring the wine back to the kitchen and Kurt was feeling a lot less comfortable now that he was gone. When he got back and slipped in bed Kurt hesitated for only a moment before spooning up behind him. "Is this okay?" he whispered in Blaine's ear.

"It's perfect."

* * *

It took a few seconds after Kurt opened his eyes to recognize where he was although the warm bundle of man in his arms was a pretty quick to remind him. While they slept they had somehow gotten even closer, now completely wrapped around one another. It was so cozy and Kurt was still tired, enough so to fall back asleep, but before he could he heard a low rumble. Blaine immediately reacted, squirming a little in his arms and Kurt chuckled softly.

"Blaine?"

Blaine groaned and rolled over to face him. With pink cheeks he apologized and said, "I haven't really eaten anything today."

Kurt leaned forward to rest his forehead on Blaine's before saying, "No, of course it's fine, let's go get something to eat."

The two stood and spent a few minutes tidying up, fixing their skewed clothes and patting down their hair. As they opened the door the smell of pizza wafted in and Kurt's mouth began to water. Blaine let out another groan, this one rather obscene and had he suddenly not realized how hungry he was Kurt might have dragged him back in the bedroom right then and there.

Harry and Alexander were sitting at the kitchen table eating away and that was expected but what wasn't was the cameraman standing, back towards Kurt and Blaine, chatting away with the other two. Suddenly the dream like state Kurt had been in all day popped and he was thrown back into reality. This was a competition, a TV show, and the world's (or at least the millions of viewers) eyes were on him. He wouldn't let the show exploit his relationship- or whatever it was- with Blaine and he wouldn't be the face of scandal.

When the cameraman noticed the two of them he quickly took his camera and held it up in their direction but before he could turn it on both him and Blaine had taken seats at the table. Kurt tried to catch Blaine's gaze to convey that none of this was to be publicized but he was busy serving himself pizza, not looking worried in the slightest.

"So Kurt, what are you doing here instead of being at your own apartment?" The man had finally gotten everything working and the red recording light was blinking in Kurt's face.

Kurt grit his teeth and tried to stay under control as he gave his answer. The crew didn't often come into their apartments but they did have the right to so he was going to have to suck it up. "I heard they had pizza, I didn't want to miss out on that." His tone wasn't dismissive but it was firm, firm enough that Kurt hoped it would put an end to all the questions.

Thankfully, after a moment's hesitation, it did, and the man left soon after. Once he did Kurt could eat his food in peace without having to worry about having sauce on his face or anything equally embarrassing but he wasn't all that hungry anymore.

"So Kurt," Harry said was an overly bright smile, "you certainly seem to be enjoying your time here eh?"  
Rage surged through Kurt at the insinuation but at least he'd had the decency to wait until the camera was gone to say it. Blaine's hand, which had been resting on Kurt's thigh, clenched at the comment and he started to reply but Alexander beat him to it.

"Oh fuck off Harry. You're just jealous you're not getting any."

Alexander was trying to make him feel better, Kurt knew that, but it only made things worse. These virtual strangers were talking about him and his most intimate interactions as if it was somehow their business. And if Harry knew about Blaine and him then it wouldn't be long before everyone else did too. The other designers, the camera crew, maybe even the judges. Would they knock him down for this? Certainly they weren't technically allowed to, but if they thought he was dedicated it could have an effect couldn't it?

Kurt stood up, dropping his half eaten slice on his plate, and said, "I'm leaving."

"Wait- what, no," Blaine said as he scrambled up to follow him.

Kurt continued to open to door but held it open so Blaine could walk out and they could talk in the hallway.

"Look, I'm sorry about them, they're being jerks, but they don't-"

"It's not just them," Kurt said quietly, then glancing up and down the hall to make sure no one was in sight. "It's just... everything. It was be hard- impossible really- to have a relationship right now. With the cameras everywhere, because I don't want any of this getting out, it would be so unprofessional, along with the competition aspect, the tension and jealousy that could arise because of it, I just don't see it working out."

"Are you saying we shouldn't try this?" He demeanor was calm but there was a sadness in his eyes that made Kurt's stomach drop.

Kurt bit his lip and said, "I've been working towards this for so long that doing anything to risk it now..."

Blaine nodded his understanding but said quietly, "You still didn't answer my question."

Kurt thought back to the what it felt like to win that first challenge and compared it to what he felt in that room just a few hours ago but it was like comparing apples and oranges. They were such different feelings that he couldn't choose one over the other, at least not now. "Can I have some time to think it over?"

"Of course," Blaine said, offering him a little smile.

He didn't deserve his patience but Kurt was thankful for it all the same. Things would be clearer in the morning he assured himself as he walked back to his room, they had to be.

* * *

Blaine felt like he could really own this challenge. They were dealing with clients, working moms on the go, and if Blaine was going to go into fashion this is what he would want to do. Maybe not moms specifically, but he definitely wanted to work with people. He'd always been a people person.

His client was a beautiful Asian women in her mid thirties who was around 5-5 and skinny as a stick. There was so envy coming his way because of that last fact, a few of the other women were a little more robust. It made Blaine so angry that people were complaining about that, even if it wasn't in front of the women's faces, because people are all different shapes and sizes and if you wanted to make it in the industry you had better get use to that.

Stephanie, the women he was working with, had a husband, two young kids, worked as a yoga instructor, and was an influential member of the local elementary school's PTA. Obviously, she was a busy bee. She asked for something that was semi-formal and that she could easily change into in the locker room at the gym because she often ended up going places straight from work. Blaine was quick to decide a chic suit jacket would be the perfect thing and Stephanie was loving it so far. That's another thing some other designers were struggling with; they weren't making their clients happy. Yes, you had to stick true to your design aesthetic, but you also had the please the customer.

In between nipping and tucking the jacket, which after the fitting proved to be a little loose around the waist, and panicking at the work still needed on the trousers, Blaine rehashed last night. It had been casual, comfortable, and just what Blaine needed to wind down after the stressful week.

It was strange, and a little unnerving, how much he told Kurt though. Although he'd been mercilessly teased over the years for his so called "heart eyes", other things, like personal problems, he kept locked away where not even he could always see them. Part of it was the almost surreal atmosphere here, and the general loneliness of not being in contact with any family or friends, but there was more too it than that. Kurt had swept in and stolen his heart and that was a very scary thought.

Because he might have put on a brave face last night but Kurt's words cut him deep. Blaine was just so sure about this, about them, that he couldn't believe Kurt wasn't feeling it too. He understood that this was Kurt's dream, he really did, but he didn't understand why Kurt thought the two were mutually exclusive. A quote keeps floating to Blaine's mind, "The right guy at the wrong time is still the wrong guy", but he refused to give into that thinking. And Kurt hadn't even give him a straight answer yet.  
Then, as if sensing Blaine's thoughts on him, Kurt turned his head to look at him. Blaine smiled instinctively and Kurt returned it before going back to work. Blaine got back to work after that too, focusing solely on the skinny grey trouser now that the jacket was done.

* * *

Sheila, Kurt's client, may have been a major bitch but at least she looked fabulous in what Kurt had made for her. She was owning the runway like not many of the other moms did and it made Kurt's outfit shine even brighter. The outfit almost hadn't shined at all because Sheila had a mind of her own and a taste level that was extremely questionable. Kurt had been able to talk her off the ledge of cheetah print (a "must" when she'd first come to see him) and after that they were able to find some common ground.

Kurt had never worked directly with a client before because Isabelle and other higher-ups handled all that at vogue. There was a thrill that came with seeing the person's eyes light up as you showed them their outfit but he could go without all the compromise and collaboration. Kurt dreaded the team challenge that was sure to arise soon.

The dress/skirt combination that Kurt made was actually in the minority for once compared to the amount of pants up on the runway. Even Blaine did a pant, something he'd earlier told Kurt he wasn't entirely comfortable with, but from here they looked perfectly fine. His jacket was cute and had a sailor feel that somehow seemed totally him.

Yesterday morning unfortunately hadn't held the clear cut solution Kurt had hoped for but he was leaning in one direction. Fashion meant so much to him, and he'd dreamed of an opportunity like this his whole life, but, Blaine was like a rock in his shoe that wouldn't leave. No, it actually wasn't like that, because Kurt enjoyed Blaine's presence, even if it only had been a few fleeting glances across the room for the past two days. Blaine was giving him his space as he asked and the separation had given him time to really think. He didn't need to pick one or the other, and Blaine knew designing would always come first for now, so maybe he really could have the best of both worlds.

As the rest of the outfits were presented Kurt was sure he was in the top. Plenty of the others were either poorly made (usually the pants) or simply not conventional enough for a working mom to wear even if she did live in New York city.

His prediction was affirmed, he was in the top, as was Blaine. Alexander was in the bottom again with Davis, who Kurt had actually grown to like. He was often a buffer between himself and Stephan who, since Kurt turned him down, liked to rile him up at every possible moment. Davis's outfit really was hideous though and that hadn't gone unnoticed by the judges. The top was a heavily draped, olive colored shawl type thing and it was paired with a knee length black skirt. His client looked completely swamped in the clothing although she wasn't entirely unhappy.

Sam's client on the other hand was positively furious. Apparently she'd wanted bright colors like pink and yellow but Sam, who didn't do anything but neutral colors (usually black), was having none of it. The garment itself wasn't awful but the judges must have gotten wind of the client's unhappiness and brought her up for that reason.

The judges praised Kurt's highly for both it's accessibility as a skirt and top separately as well as the unusual use of colors and patterns from him. It felt nice to be in the top as always, but it wasn't as novel any more. Kurt had been in the top every time but once so far and he knew that made him a front runner. Blaine also received great reviews, especially about the impeccability in the jacket. He got knocked a bit because up close his pants weren't as perfectly fitted as they could have been but he earned points back because of how pleased his client was.

Then Alexander got beaten up over his out-of-date sweater dress and leggings combination and it was painful to watch. Kurt had decided he was actually a pretty good guy. Yesterday he'd come up to him and apologized for his behavior, practically begging him to get back with Blaine. He had noticed the new distance between the two of them and blamed himself. Kurt tried to convince him it wasn't anything he did without explaining to him the exact nature of what was going on and he seemed to understand.

It was with a jolt that Kurt realized he didn't really want either of these two going home. It seemed after all his talk of staying separate and not coming here to make friends he actually had started caring for the other designers.

* * *

Kurt won and Blaine couldn't be happier. The light in his eyes as they called his name and the tear he serendipitously wiped away was enough to balance the little pang in his chest due to the loss. Then there was also the hug he pulled him into afterwards that was still making his skin feel tingly five minutes later.

As the dust settled though, and Kurt stayed away on the journey back to the apartments, Blaine began to worry. Maybe this win would make Kurt think he was better off staying away and keeping focused. They hadn't talked really since that night and then he won this challenge so logically it made sense.

Blaine knew he offered to give Kurt time but he really hoped he would make a decision soon. Not knowing if the feelings he had were returned, or if he would get to feel those lips on his again, was worse a torture than being turned down.

* * *

**It wasn't exclusively mentioned but Davis went home this week. Hope you guys liked this update and I'll see you next week :)**

**Kurt's design (by Rebecca Minkoff):**

media(.onsugar)(.com)/files/ons/191/1913634/44_2008/7ef551de8431c884_rebeccaminoffspring2009(.xlarge)(.jpg)

**Blaine's design (by YW): **i03(.c)(.aliimg)(.com)/img/ibank/2012/719/020/632020917_1171862081(.jpg) **- please imagine with skinny grey trousers instead of jeans!**


	7. Chapter 6

**Here is the, albeit late, update! **

**IMPORTANT NOTICE: There will be no update next Tuesday! For spring break I'm going on a trip to Europe and will have very limited internet access. So updates will pick up the week after that. **

**Okay, enjoy!**

* * *

As Heidi approached the group with the infamous button bag Blaine knew what it meant: teams. Team challenges happened only once or twice during the competition, minus that one season a few years ago when every challenge was a team challenge. To Blaine it seemed like they were mostly about stirring up trouble among the designers but, he did admit, collaboration was an important part of the design world.

Heidi explained they would be working in teams of two except for one group of three. It seemed like bad planning on their part to have this challenge when there was an odd number of people left. The challenge itself was to create a design based on piece found in the Museum of Modern Art.

Finally the moment came that Blaine had been waiting for.

"Okay, time to pick teams!" Heidi said with her overly bright smile. "Kurt, since you were the winner of the last challenge, you get to choose your partner."

Blaine held his breath. His eyes met with Kurt's for only a brief second but it was enough for him to know what this meant. This was how he would make his decision.

"I would like to work with... Blaine." A small, genuine smile lit his face for a few seconds before the colder and more calculated one took over.

Blaine walked over, gave Kurt a brief hug as was customary, and then stood beside him. His hand itched to grab Kurt's where it hung right beside him but he resisted.

"Now Kurt would you like to be the team of three and pick another person?" Heidi asked.

Kurt declined and so the rest of the teams were drawn from the bag. The group of three was Alice, Alexander, and Mary Jane and Blaine could actually see them working well together. Mary Jane was older but that made her wise and she might be able to rein in Alexander's over ambitiousness and Alice's emotional breakdowns. Also together was Harry and Stephan which was sure to cause some fireworks.

Kurt was, in a hushed tone, asking rapid fire questions about Blaine's knowledge of modern art and how many times he'd been to the museum when he suddenly straightened up. "Oh shit! I left my sketch book in the other room."

With that he sprinted off and Blaine was left feeling a little lost. He slowed his pace down but kept walking towards the front of the building where the taxis would bring them to the museum.

"It's shame about Kurt picking you huh?"

The voice caused Blaine's head to whip around from where it was straining to see if Kurt was coming back. Harry had fallen into step with him and the sneer on his face counteracted any attractiveness he had. "What do you mean?"

"I mean it shows his true feelings towards you."

Exactly, Blaine thought, his eyebrows furrowing. Why was Harry making this out to be a bad thing. "Yeah um, I fail to see the issue here..."

"Blaine," Harry said slowly, as if he was talking to a toddler, "Kurt won the last challenge. He has immunity for this one. So guess who goes home if your team is on the bottom? You just better hope he's on his a-game today," he called as he walked away.

The words brought a sinking feeling to Blaine's chest. Surely that wasn't Kurt's thought process; it couldn't be. Kurt may have wanted to win but not in that way. Harry's implication, that Kurt would throw this challenge to make Blaine go home, it was preposterous. He felt bad even considering it. He knew Kurt better than anyone here and he might seem prickly on the outside but he wasn't capable of that.

But Harry's words brought a niggling doubt that just wouldn't leave Blaine no matter how he rationalized it. Kurt must have noticed it because after he rejoined Blaine, sketchbook in hand, he asked him what was going on. They were just climbing into the cab though, and a camera man was sitting in the front seat, so Blaine spared him a quick glance before shaking his head and whispering "not here."

The designers were given an hour to explore the museum and plan their designs before they would head off to Mood. As much as Kurt liked planning every little detail, he agreed with Blaine that they couldn't do much until they found the artwork they would use as inspiration, so the ride was uneventful. Neither of them had much experience with modern art so they decided it would be best to just wander the museum until they found something they both liked.

For the first few minutes the camera man assigned to Kurt and Blaine's team followed them around but once he realized they weren't really doing anything not worthy he left to go confer with his supervisor. Once he was fully out of view Blaine didn't waste any time.

"Hey uh Kurt, can I ask you something?"

Kurt hummed but continued to stare at the sculpture in front of him.

"You picking me as your partner... that meant something right? Because I thought so but then Harry was telling me- well he was probably just trying to get inside my head but I have to make sure I'm not reading this wrong."

That caught Kurt's attention and after realizing the cameras were gone and it was just them he stepped forward into Blaine's space. He leaned in slowly and caught Blaine's upper lip, sucking on it slightly, before pulling away. "Yes," he breathed out. "Sorry for being a jerk the other day- no it's true," he said when Blaine tried to contradict him, "I was honestly just scared. But I want this, I really really do."

Blaine tried to kiss him again but Kurt only let it go on for a few seconds before gently pushing him away. "Come on, we only have forty-five minutes left, we need to get going."

* * *

"Okay first things first," Kurt said as he dropped the Mood bag on the table and began rifling through it. "Do you want to make the dress or design the pattern? I mean we have the basics but one of us is going to need to set each in stone."

"The pattern I guess..." he said, trying to sound like he didn't care either way. Because honestly he didn't really.

"Great, then I'll get started on this," and without another word he was pulling out the black fabric and measuring it carefully.

Blaine froze for a good thirty seconds before collecting himself enough to make it look like he was working. Kurt had, without a second thought, let Blaine take over the real creative side of this project. The black dress was obviously crucial but without the gold patterning it would be nothing special. Blaine already knew Kurt didn't trust many people, especially when it came to fashion, but he had made that shortlist. It was heady feeling.

Once the feeling faded (or at least dulled enough so he could focus) Blaine took a look at the notes they'd taken in the museum. The artwork they chose for inspiration was The Black Paintings by Izhar Patkin. It was a stunning piece, or collection of pieces really, that took up the entire room. Paktin had used gold and silver ink to paint on a black, rubbery material and it was it's unique medium that attracted the boys to it originally. After reading the description they found the painting was based on a play by Jean Genet, The Blacks: A Clown Show, but neither of them were familiar with it. Instead they took in the setting of the painting and tried to imagine what somebody in that place would wear.

Blaine had finished the sketch ten minutes ago but he was too nervous to show Kurt. Tim wasn't wrong the other day when he told Blaine he needed more confidence in his work. Blaine's stage presence had always been one of a confident, suave guy, but when it came down to it, he had a bit of a self-esteem issue. He drew a direct correlation between his worth as a person and the level of achievement he exceeded in any given subject. That's what kept his grades up, and his front-man status on the Warblers, so it wasn't all bad, but when he did fail at something, his self worth took a heavy blow.

And worse than anything was failing in the eyes of people who he cared about. He doesn't think his parents ever figured that out about him, and if they had, things at home might have gone a bit differently.

Finally Kurt approached him. "You all done?"

Blaine wordlessly handed over the paper and tried to look anywhere but at Kurt.

"I would never have done the hearts, but I like them." Kurt nodded one last time, offered him a few suggestions on the layout of some of the shapes, and then handed back the paper. "The dress is coming along even quicker than I thought so I should be able to help you in just a little bit."

"Awesome, thanks," Blaine said and the two of them shared a lingering smile, both a little too close. Blaine wanted to kiss him right now, cameras be damned, but he was obviously going to be respectful of Kurt not wanting that. Instead he gave Kurt's hand a quick squeeze and then shooed him away to keep working.

* * *

To be honest these last few days hadn't gone as Kurt expected them to. With Blaine on his team he hoped it would allow them to spend more time together, and while it admittedly did that, it wasn't the kind of time he wanted to spend with him. Other people were around literally all of the time plus there was no shortage of work to be done. Besides the few minutes in the museum yesterday morning they hadn't had a moment to themselves.

Then, to make things worse, he had just been told that this afternoon was booked with promotional things. Interviews and pictures and all of that. His plans of having a nice evening with Blaine went down the drain.

Speaking of Blaine, he really should have been there by now. Kurt was waiting in line to consult with the makeup artist over their model's look and Blaine said he just needed to fix one quick thing before he met him there. Blaine still hadn't arrived when Kurt was called so he decided to go in without him. Things had been discussed only broadly so Kurt just had to go with his gut. He settled on having a large amount of dark, smudged eye shadow and then framing the eye itself in liquid gold eyeliner. Other than that he kept thing pretty plain.

When Blaine still hadn't shown up after the ten minute conference finished Kurt began to worry. What if something horrible had happened to the dress? What if it ripped? He picked up his pace as he rounded to corner and he ended up slamming right into Blaine himself.

"Oh my god, sorry Kurt!" Blaine was out of breath and his hair was breaking free from the gel. "Did I miss it?" he asked, sounding guilty. "Yes, but what happened with the dress? Is everything okay?" Blaine disheveled appearance didn't give off a great vibe.

"It is now," Blaine said brightly.

"Blaine..." Kurt warned but then let out a squeak when Blaine kissed him sweetly on cheek.

"Don't worry, everything's great," Blaine said as he led Kurt by the hand back to the workroom.

Indeed, even after Kurt's thorough investigation, the dress seemed to be in perfect condition. He'd ask Blaine later what happened but right now he really didn't need the extra worry. Fitting the model was already stressful enough because now matter how many measurements you took you could never be sure exactly how it would ft.

In the end it fit nicelt, and now sitting next to the runway, with Blaine at his side, Kurt could finally relax a little. He was proud of this piece, of the collaboration with Blaine, and he knew it was one of his bests so far.

After inching his hand closer and closer to where Blaine's hung off the arm of his chair, Kurt finally laced their fingers together. If anyone asked he could reason that it was because they were teammates and he was worried about their piece. But, if the smile that played on his lips was any indication, Blaine knew what this meant, and that's all that mattered to Kurt.

For a second Kurt found himself wishing the competition would just be over already although he quickly pushed that away. He and Blaine would have all the time in the world to truly explore what this was after the competition. This, being here, winning, that's what was most important right now. An opportunity like this is once in a lifetime and Kurt wasn't going to waste it.

"What are you thinking about?" Blaine whispered, bringing his head close.

Kurt hesitated because they hadn't talked about this before. "I was just thinking about how I can't wait to go on a real date after all this is over."

"Kurt," Blaine said, his eyes going soft, "I can't wait for that too."

To make up for the fact that Kurt couldn't lean over and kiss that intoxicated look off Blaine's face, he kept a tight grip on his hand throughout the entire runway show and lingered even after the lights came back up.

* * *

They didn't win. It hurt, as every loss did, but even more so this time because Kurt could have won with Blaine. They could have celebrated it together, without lingering sorrows or contained excitement as not to make the other feel bad. Now that Kurt was being honest with himself he knew things were about to change.

He wished more than anything that he could talk with his dad right now. In high school Kurt didn't feel totally comfortable around him but after getting to college, and suffering his first heartbreak, which was a series of one night stands that Kurt misunderstood, his dad made it clear he was always open to talk. Since then he'd never really taken him up on it, not even after the Marcus debacle, but he would now.

Unfortunately contest rules said that along with no internet or TV, there was also no contacting anyone on the outside. Some seasons had challenges that included family members or friends, and all had at least one time where you got to contact your loved ones, but Kurt didn't know when that would be. And even when it did happen, he'd read on blog from previous contestants that the sessions were monitored and often recorded so he wouldn't be able to talk about sensitive subjects anyway.

Kurt felt tears building behind his eyes and he quickly swiped at them and scolded himself for being so childish. All of a sudden the homesickness and the stress of the competition and these huge, scary feelings he was developing for Blaine came together and overwhelmed him completely.

Blaine, as if sensing something was off, wrapped an arm around Kurt's waist and pulled him close. Kurt stiffened and thought about fighting it but the comfort was too much to resist. There were no cameras following them on their walk back to the apartments and if any of the other designers could see them in the fading light Kurt didn't really care. If he was being realistic Harry probably blabbed his mouth about them anyway just to spite them.

Once it became clear Kurt wasn't going to pull away Blaine looked up at him with those warm, sincere eyes. Smiling back, Kurt leaned into him so he could rest his head on his shoulder, wishing that they wouldn't have to part in just a few minutes.

* * *

**Kurt and Blaine's piece (By Emilio Pucci): **style(.com)/slideshows/2011/fashionshows/2012PF/PUCCI/RUNWAY/024fullscreen(.jpg)

**Inspiration artwork (The Black Paintings by ********Izhar Patkin):** moma(.org)/collection/object(.php)?criteria=O%3AOD%3AE%3A81280&page_number=1&template_id=1&sort_order=1&imageID=1


	8. Chapter 7

**Way sorry for the late update- I messed up the dates of my trip and then I got sick. Here it is though so I won't delay you any longer!**

* * *

Sharing an apartment with Stephan was like living with a ghost. A really annoying ghost. He never washed his dirty dishes, he... well, okay, that was all Kurt could think of right now, but his mind was foggy from the long day. Kurt was eating alone because Stephan refused to eat, or even be in the common area. The only proof Kurt had of him being there half the time was the occasional noise of the toilet flushing and the sink running.

It's not that Kurt actually wanted to have a conversation with Stephan or anything, he just hated that Stephan had this notion that he was above him. If there's one thing Kurt couldn't stand it was a guy who was full of himself.

Speaking of guys who were full of themselves, Blaine definitely was not today. Avant garde, the theme for this week, just wasn't his thing. Kurt wasn't any expert at it either, but at least he'd done a little bit with it at Parsons. Blaine however, he was struggling. The only blessing was they had two days to work on this, so in addition to working all day today they would get to work all day tomorrow too.

It seemed generous, a bit too generous, and Kurt was on his toes for any potential plot twists. He finally crawled into bed a little after midnight and almost cried when he reached over to set his alarm for four-thirty. His fingers hesitation, he went back and forth before finally changing it to five-thirty. He'd just be working all day, and sweating too, and thirty minutes really was sufficient for getting ready. Snuggling under the comfort, curled into the fetal position even though he knew it was bad for his back, Kurt let out a content sigh knowing he would be getting an extra hour of rest tonight.

* * *

It looked like it had gotten in a fight with a cat and lost. The shredded fabric was terrible and cheap and not original or avant garde in anything way. But the whole concept didn't even make any sense! Clothes that weren't wearable? What did that even mean?

Kurt had caught him alone a little while ago, had given his shoulders a few deep rubs- something that Blaine would need to explore later because wow he gave good massages and all this stress was making his back tie up in knots- and told him to just "let your creative juices flow and go without whatever come naturally." If this was what his creative juices looked like then he needed to keep them bottled up and away from the public eye.

And Blaine didn't even want to talk about his critique with Tim. It had been painful enough to go through the first time, he hoped he could wipe that from his memory forever.

Wallowing would solve nothing though, so Blaine tried to keep as busy as possible, trying new thing after new thing because eventually something would have to work.

"It's looking better," came the familiar voice from behind him.

Blaine rubbed his eyes and huffed out humorless laugh. "I don't think it could have gotten any worse."

"Hey now," Kurt protested, taking a step forward, "stop that."

"You look cute today," Blaine said, abruptly changing the subject. Kurt raised his eyebrows and hunched his shoulder a bit, turning in on himself. Confused by the reaction, Blaine was quick to clarify, "I don't- I don't mean that in a bad way," Blaine said cautiously, trying to figure out what Kurt was feeling. "Usually you're so sexy in your tight clothes and styled hair and- wait, crap, it's not that you're not sexy now it's just- I like this casual look, it works well on you."

"Mmm so I'm not sexy eh?" Kurt teased. He leaned forward until his mouth was right next to Blaine's ear and whispered, "Bathroom, five minutes," and then spun away, presumably off to the bathroom himself.

He would have to teach Kurt how to take a compliment later- he didn't seem very good at it and Blaine couldn't figure out why because he must get them all the time. Blaine tried to wait five minutes, and he thought he got pretty close, but when you're half hard and a sexy guy is waiting for you it's tough to be patient.

The bathroom is small, it only has two stalls and minimal space outside of them, but at least it's clean. As soon as Blaine entered Kurt jumped out from behind the door and kissed him hard, locking the door at the same time.

"I thought you needed a little reminder of just how talented and special and amazing you are," Kurt panted out in between kisses.

Blaine sucked in a breathe and felt liquid heat flood his veins because that was one of the cutest things anyone had ever said to him. But then Kurt reached forward and started rubbing Blaine through his pants and after he wasn't really able to concentrate on anything else. "Let me-" Blaine cut off with whimper and Kurt continued to work him over, "let me blow you," he practically pleaded.

Kurt stopped his movements and frowned a little. "But... this is supposed to be about you feeling good."

"Trust me," Blaine said as he reached to cup Kurt's face, "this will make me feel way more than good." Then, before Kurt could protest, he dropped to his knees and worked his fingers over the button.

"Oh god oh god oh god oh god," Kurt chanted under his breath.

Blaine smiled, grabbed his ass, and got to work. He worked his lips quickly up and down the shaft, not trying to muffle the obscene slurping noises although he knew he should. Kurt had his head thrown back against the wall and was biting his lip in an attempt to keep quiet. When Blaine gave a particularly hard suck around the head Kurt's hand flew to his hair and held on tight.

Surprisingly, it didn't make Blaine feel trapped, but actually more eager, and he groaned as best he could with a cock in his mouth.

Kurt began to shake and his hips were thrusting forward slightly but he was holding back. Blaine pulled off, spit and precome dripping from his mouth, and cleared his voice before saying, "You can do it, you can fuck my mouth."

He quickly latched back on and prepared his throat for when Kurt would realize what he said. It took a few seconds but then Kurt's eyes went wide and he let out a choked off noise before grabbing Blaine's hair again and thrusting forward more deeply. Blaine let Kurt take control and he pumped forward fast, grunting softly as he did, and Blaine couldn't keep his hand from wandering down to his own crotch. All it took was one hum from Blaine and Kurt was coming hard down his throat.

Blaine stood, his dick still throbbing painfully between his legs, but when Kurt made to get down and return the favor Blaine pulled him back up. "Oh no, these floors are filthy, you don't want your pants suffering that."

"Don't care," Kurt responded.

"You will in like half an hour. I won't last anyway, just please," Blaine said, his hips already rotation in small circles.

Kurt finally gave up and unbuttoned his pants, bring the head of Blaine's cock above the waistband. After stroking a few times he pulled off and licked a stripe up his hand in a way that almost had Blaine coming right there before going back at it. It was embarrassing how little it took but sucking Kurt off, in a public bathroom, had honestly been the most intense sexual experience Blaine had ever had.

Once everything was cleaned up and they were halfway to looking presentable Kurt kissed him softly. "I'm going to go, we've already been in here way too long, but wait like five minutes before coming out okay?"

Blaine nodded and watched as Kurt left and he really hoped the camera crew was still at lunch when it was his turn to exit.

* * *

Kurt watched Blaine work over his shoulder, saw the stiffness in his back, and the way he was gnawing at his lips in a way that would leave them completely ravaged, and wished he could do more. He hoped his little time-out earlier had helped, even just a little. It wasn't that Kurt thought sex was some magical fix to everything, but he also didn't see a problem in distracting Blaine and making him feel good and loved even if it was just for a little while.

His own piece was coming along nicely but he thought, and Tim agreed, that it was a bit too safe. Around the room Kurt saw huge, puffy things, high side collars, long trains, and general craziness while his dress was edgy at best. Anything he added now would just seem cheap and tacked on though, so he was in a little bit of a pickle.

Slap. Torn out of his reverie, Kurt whipped around, thinking for a second that Blaine had actually just smacked his ass in front of everyone. It turned out, however, that it was just the crazy, and slightly frightening, Emmy. He'd talked with her a couple of times and apparently that was the level of familiarity it took for her to feel comfortable groping him.

"Come on, let's get something to eat, your pretty little ass is so bony I think I broke something," she called out as she kept walking.

Kurt was shocked, and a little offended (he thinks) but followed her anyway. Once they picked a table and sat, Emmy gave Kurt a hard look before putting her cookie on his plate and moving to get another one for herself. Kurt liked eating right but he wasn't usually a health nut; being busy messed with his appetite though, and he often found himself forgetting to eat at all.

Conversation with Emmy was easy because she did most of the talking. Kurt knew a lot about her- from Chicago, lived with her boyfriend (although they were having some issues right now), worked at a little boutique her mother owned- but she didn't know much about him. Over the years he'd learned it was easier to direct the conversation away from himself then to try and explain that just because he was gay, had a high voice, worked in fashion, and lived in New York didn't mean that they could make assumptions about him. Not that Emmy was like that, it had just become habit.

After a few minutes Blaine and Alice joined them and it made for a nice little break from the stress of the day. Blaine had everyone in stitches over a story from his youth of serenading a guy in a Gap and Kurt was warmed by the thought that Blaine, who was so popular, had chosen him. It was clear from day one that Blaine, with his polite, chatty personality, and habit of singing softly under his breath as he worked, was a favorite among the designers. Everyone thought, and voiced, that he was the cutest little thing. Kurt had no doubts that Blaine charmed his way through life, with complete sincerity of course, yet out of everyone Blaine wanted to be with him.

But this also worried him. Here, for those couple weeks, there weren't many options. Kurt didn't accuse Blaine of doing it on purpose, but it was possible he was settling without even realizing it. Once they got back to the real world, there would be plenty of guys Blaine could chose from. Kurt tried to shake the insecurity he had hoped he would leave behind in Ohio but he just couldn't. It followed him around like a shadow; sometimes it was barely noticeable but it was always, always there.

* * *

The end result was bad. Not horrible, not like it was before, but definitely nowhere near good enough to escape the judges criticism. This could be it for him and Blaine had to accept that. There were a lot of things Blaine was unsure about but one thing he did know is that he didn't want to go home. Here he could be himself and be creative and be around Kurt without having to worry about getting a job or paying rent or any of that. It was stressful, and he was tired all of the time, but it was a rewarding type of tired, the kind that comes after you've put your all into something and succeeded.

Blaine felt a little guilty about it but as the garments were walked down the runway he tried to find one that was worse than his; something to give him hope. And then he found it. It looked completely unfinished, the dress being laced loosely in the back, the entire thing flapping open as the model walked, and it had a huge drooping collar. There even looked to be a stray thread hanging off the back. It was certainly as bad, if not worse than Blaine's, but instead of feeling relieved Blaine felt sick to his stomach. It was Alexander's.

He knew Alexander had been struggling, they'd both been lamenting about it for the past few days, but he assumed he had pulled it together like he always did. They shared a look, a solemn understanding passing between them. Unless someone else completely tanked, it would be one them.

"Will the following designers please step forward," Heidi said. The runway show has finished with no other standout pieces, good or bad, and so it seemed there was little hope for the two boys. "Kurt, Stephan, Alice, and Chantelle. Congratulations, your scores have qualified you to move onto the next round. You may leave the runway."

And then there was six.

One by one the designers were asked questions. High praise was given to Harry and his bright, boxy dress, and similarly to Sam, whose bodysuit looked like it came straight from a futuristic action movie. When it was Alexander's turn he looked close to tears but spoke strongly, admitted his mistakes, and the judges seemed impressed by that. Then it was his turn.

"Blaine, tell us about your piece."

"Well uh, I wanted to do something asymmetrical, and I wanted to play with lots of fabric on one side and minimal on the other, and um, it definitely didn't turn out like I wanted but uh... yeah."

"Blaine just, what the hell happened," Michael deadpanned.

"Usually your pieces are so feminine and cute!" Heidi, always the nice one, said. "This looks like it was thrown together in two hours, not two days!"

Blaine cringed. He tried to pay attention, to get the constructive from the criticism, but it was hard. It was an awful dress, he knew that, and he wished they would just stop repeating it.

"There's this one slit on the side- right there- where you can actually see her underwear," Nina exclaimed.

The judges pointed out a few nice things, like his little pop of color, but overall, as expected, he was in the bottom two. With Alexander.

When the tirade ended and they were finally able to escape Blaine walked as quick as he could without running to the waiting room where Kurt was. He sank down and rested his elbows on his knees, all hunched over, and let out a sigh. Kurt murmured comforting things and asked Blaine about the critique but he didn't want to talk about it so they didn't. Instead Kurt distracted him with a story about his crazy ex-roommate, Rachel, and Blaine found himself chuckling softly.

"Thank you," he said softly when he finally stood, ready to go receive the results. Kurt only nodded and bit his lip, looking as nervous as Blaine felt.

Alexander loitered by the door until Blaine walked through it and then he fell in step beside him. "Whatever happens today, you're a great guy and I'm going to miss you."

"Likewise, and we'll keep in touch," Blaine said, offering his hand to him. Alexander took it and pulled him into a quick hug even as they were still walking.

"And don't let Kurt go," he said suddenly, "he's a special one."

Blaine smiled and nodded, having no other response. They had reached the runway anyway.

Heidi did the introduction and went straight into announcing the winner: Harry. Despite Blaine's feelings about him he did deserve to win this week; his dress was amazing. Then the other two in the top were cleared off stage and three were left.

"Mary Jane, you're in, you may leave the runway." That was obvious, her piece was the best of the bottom three.

Blaine felt eerily calm, the only indication of what could happen was a small, sharp feeling of dread in his chest.

"Blaine," Heidi began, "... you're in. You may leave the runway." Blaine felt like collapsing but not in a good way. He was in but there was a price; his friend, and the knowledge that he had failed. Maybe not as badly as Alexander, but this wasn't a shining moment.

Reaching over he gave Alexander's hand a squeeze, his eyes meeting Alexander's, which were brimming with tears, and then he left. His shoes sounded too loud in the empty hallway, his breathing ragged, and he practically stumbled into the room. Kurt's head shot up from where it was resting on his hands and Blaine nodded once, slowly. "I'm in," he announced quietly.

Half the room got up to hug him and there were cries of relief. Blaine didn't feel all that connected to the other designers but they obviously did to him. Or perhaps it only took a surface relationship for these people to get worked up.

The only person he wanted to see, Kurt, came up last. "Thank god," he whispered in his ear, and they quickly sat down as they heard the door opening only to get right back up as Alexander entered.

The last goodbye was short and unintimate but Blaine didn't care, they'd said what they needed to earlier. Alexander was talented but still so young. Blaine was sure he'd make it someday.

* * *

**I hope you all are still liking this story! It will resume weekly Tuesday updates next week so be excited for that :)**

**Kurt's piece (by ****Althea Harper and Louise Black): **imageshack(.us)/a/img9/2936/project2brunway2bseaso n(.jpg)  


**Blaine's piece (by Oliver Green): imageshack(.us)/a/img41/584/olivier2bwater2bmess2b p(.jpg)**

***EDIT: It has been brought to my attention that my previous links didn't work so I decided to start doing the links in a new way that should ensure they always work and make them shorter and easier to manage. If you are still having trouble though, you can always go over to scarvesandcoffee and find the story there (****same story name, same author name)** which has the pictures posted at the bottom of each chapter. 


	9. Chapter 8

**And we're back with normal Tuesday updates. Thanks to everyone who stuck with this!**

* * *

The sun was shining, birds were singing, and Kurt was frantically running around the apartment in nothing but a pair of jeans. Normally he would never be so brazen, but Stephan had already moved out and he should have too. With only four guys left they were all moving into one suite, the one already occupied by Blaine and Harry.

Kurt had been in the middle of a last minute outfit change when he remembered that the night before he hadn't been able to find his favorite comb. He'd shrugged and off and decided to look for it in the morning but he'd completely forgotten. Now he was already late and close to tears because more than caring so much about the comb itself, Kurt hated losing things. It frustrated him to no end.

There was a small knock at door and then it was cracked open slightly. "Kurt?" Blaine's head was sticking in the room and his face seemed to have a bit more color to it than usual. He cleared his throat and then said, "Um, you know we were supposed to go like, 5 minutes ago right?"

"I know, I know," Kurt huffed, deciding to give up the search. He scanned the room in vain as he retreated to the bedroom to pull on his shirt- carefully of course as not to mess up his already slightly droopy hair- and get his bag. Blaine looked relieved when he came out so quickly and Kurt made a point to take one last look at the apartment, his home for the last couple weeks.

"So, that was nice view I was treated to back there," Blaine said causally once they were on their way. "Ow!" Blaine exclaimed, rubbing his shoulder.

"Oh don't be such a baby," Kurt said with a smile, bringing his hand back down to his side.

They walked briskly (Kurt refused to run) to the other apartment, dropped Kurt's stuff off, and then continued down to the lobby. Everyone was already there and obviously waiting for them to arrive.

"Well look who decided to show up. Hope you two had fun doing... whatever it is you were doing." A couple designers looked amused by Harry's comments but the production crew just looked happy they were there and Blaine apologized vocally more than once.

As soon as everything was set up and the cameras started rolling, Heidi began explaining the challenge. "Now as I'm sure you all know, lately there's been a sort of, unappetizing, trend in fashion."

Kurt's disgust and fear was mirrored on the faces of the people around him and he met Blaine's wide eyes for a moment. At the MTV awards just a few months ago, Lady Gaga was nominated for her comeback album, and she wore a revamped version of her infamous meat dress. It sparked a satirical trend of horrible food ensembles. If this was going anywhere near where Kurt thought it was he just might faint.

"Now before you all panic no, you will not be making anything out of real food-" thank god "however you will be designing something inspired by food. In the fashion world it's the designers jobs to take something uncool and make it cool, and that's what we'll be doing for this challenge."

Designs based on food, that wasn't so bad, and Kurt could hear the people at home groaning at them not using real food because as a fan himself, he knew those tough challenges were the most fun to watch.

* * *

_"Sunshine, lollipops and rainbows everything that's wonderful is what I feel- when we're together."_

Blaine sang softly under his breath as he sewed, feeling a bit like a 50s housewife. He always sang when he was in a good mood and today had gone really well. His dress was coming along great; such an improvement from this time last challenge.

Then there was also the fact that he would be seeing a lot more of Kurt from now on. They would be living together, in the same apartment, in the same room. Now of course they wouldn't be alone so nothing could really change but still, just being around him improved his mood. Blaine knew it was all too fast and too much but why stop such a good thing? Boundaries and normal dating rules would apply after the contest, but for now they would just have to muddle along as best they could.

Mary Jane called out that there were five minutes left and Blaine looked up quickly, noting that it was in fact already 10:55. The machine gave one last whir before shutting down and Blaine carefully lifted his dress and brought it back to his station. He lied it on the table and moved to find Kurt but he was beat to it.

"Hey," Kurt greeted softly. Blaine gathered up his things, saddled his satchel across his body, and walked with him out of the building.

"Hey yourself. Rough day?"

"Eh, not so much, just extremely tired. I thought laying off the caffeine would be good for me but feeling like this cannot be healthy."

Blaine laughed and shook his head. Kurt's definition of laying off the caffeine was probably having two cups that day. Blaine loved his coffee but he didn't drink it like Kurt.

"Oh! I haven't even asked, what are you doing for your piece?"

"You mean you can't tell what food it's based on?" Blaine asked, feigning hurt. Actually his dress wasn't inspired by food but by an apron. It was made out of the same material and even looked kind of like one.

"Oh, uh, a banana?" Kurt tried.

Unable to contain himself, Blaine burst into giggles. Kurt's eyebrows shot up and he continued to look confused until Blaine explained it to him and then he just rolled his eyes.

"A banana? really?" Blaine asked, a grin his face.

"Shut up. You sounded like a kicked puppy and I thought someone was going to call animal control."

Snorting indelicately, Blaine continued the banter until they reached their apartment. He forgot his key in the room so they had to wait a few minutes for Harry. When he showed up Stephan was with him and the four of them went inside. Kurt immediately took his bag and began wheeling it towards Blaine's room but Stephan's voice stopped him.

"Oh no you don't. I don't want to room with him," he spat.

"I'm not too happy about it either princess, but do you really think those too are going to split up? And if they do you know they're going to be sneaking into each other's rooms to fuck and I don't know about you but that's not something I want to see or hear."

Blaine looked to Kurt who was silently fuming but he kept quiet and so did Blaine. Harry was vile but he was also on their side for once.

"Fine," Stephan sighed, and then practically stomped into the other room.

Sharing a small smile with Kurt, Blaine lead the way. Their nightly routines were surprisingly unaffected by one another, and they seemed to dance around each other as teeth were brushed and faces were washed.

The only hiccup was when it came time to change. Without thinking Blaine had started stripping and was only alerted to situation when Kurt gasped quietly. Blaine supposed it wasn't so much the nakedness but the intimacy level it suggested. Also the temptation. In the end Kurt took his clothes to the bathroom and changed there. Usually Blaine only wore boxers and he debated for a moment putting on sweats but in the end he didn't. Kurt also forwent pants although he did have a t-shirt on.

The two chatted a little bit but it was late and they were both exhausted so it wasn't long before they climbed into bed.

Blaine loved sleeping, literally sleeping, with other people. The warmth of their body, the steady sound of their breathing, it comforted him and put him right to sleep. He'd had a few boyfriends over the years (although none real serious) and having someone to cuddle with had always been one of his favorite parts of being in a relationship.

Now, as he stared at the ceiling, despite being extremely tired, he couldn't sleep. Not with the knowledge that Kurt was lying literally five feet from him. He tried to wait it out but then he realized if he waited too long Kurt would probably already be asleep.

"Kurt," he whispered. No answer came and Blaine deflated.

"Yeah?" Kurt finally responded, his voice slow and soft.

"Can I- would it be okay if I came over there?"

"To sleep? Sure."

Blaine got up and shuffled over, slipping under the covers which Kurt held up for him. He seemed a little more awake now but his eyes were beginning to droop.

"Goodnight," Blaine said, rolling over so his back was pressed to Kurt's chest.

Kurt's arm wrapped around his chest and pulled him snugly against him. "Goodnight."

The two were asleep within minutes.

* * *

Waking up with Blaine was sweet; snuggling into his body's warmth, rubbing a nose in his now ungelled hair, and hearing those adorable sleeping noises he made as he came to consciousness. Being up with Blaine was not so sweet.

Kurt didn't mind mornings, but until he could get his hands on some coffee, he was a bit of a drone. He wanted quiet and minimal movement which seemed to be the opposite of Blaine. It wasn't so bad when he was still in the shower, Kurt smiled at the singing which Blaine seemed to never stop doing, but after that it went all downhill. Blaine chattered on, flitting in and out of the bathroom, trying to inspire some sort of conversation. Eventually he gave up after all Kurt would give him was a few noncommittal grunts and one word answers.

On the way out the door Kurt grabbed a cup from the instant machine on the counter. At first he'd been disgusted by the stuff, but necessity ruled he drink it and now it didn't seem half bad. He'd be back to his grande nonfat mocha when he was done with this though. Oh, what he'd give for one of those right now.

The morning was warm but not unbearably sticky yet and with his caffeine in hand Kurt already felt a thousand times better. He picked up where one of his and Blaine's "conversations" left off that morning and Blaine returned eagerly but seemed amused.

"You know," he said after a moment, "coffee takes like, at least thirty minutes for the effects to kick in..."

"Quiet you," Kurt grumbled.

When the designers walked into the workroom they were met with a welcome surprise. In one of the side rooms there was an entire breakfast spread set up. There were fruits, bagels, pastries, and much more; it looked like heaven. Although it was bad for him Kurt often skipped breakfast and while he wasn't hungry when he first woke up, by this time, he usually was and regretting not eating. Everyone hesitated around the table, not wanting to be the first one to get something, until Tim came in and announced it was to go along with the food theme. That opened the floodgates for everyone to dig in and they did so quickly so they could get back to their work.

The two hours before the runway rushed by as it always did; between hair, makeup, and dressing the model, Kurt didn't understand how anyone actually got any work done. Still, there were always a few people who went into that last day with an unfinished garment and came out with something incredible.

Kurt had seen bits and pieces of the other garments but as always, he had tunnel vision for his own piece. This runway show was an interesting one because there were so many different directions to go. Blaine was on one end, doing an apron dress, and on the other was Alice with her dress that literally looked like a strawberry costume.

Kurt was on the more literal side with his piece, something that surprised himself as well as Blaine, since usually he found comfort in subtlety. It wasn't over the top like Alice's (he shuddered at the thought) but since the only thing on the otherwise plain white, cinched at the waist dress was a silhouette of a bunch of grapes, it wasn't cryptic about its food inspiration. The dress had softer lines and a lighter feel than the things Kurt usually did, and he hoped it would show the judges another side of him. The competition field had almost been cut in half already and with the trend being that four contestants went the finals, it wouldn't be long before all that was upon them.

When it came time to announce the top and bottom, that point was driven in harder by the fact that only three people left to go wait in the waiting room. Neither Kurt nor Blaine was one of them and as usual Kurt was confident he was in the top, and he felt the same for Blaine.

He was first to be reviewed and the critique went pretty much as expected. They were happy his piece was different from his normal style, Tom wasn't overly fond of the shape the dress had though, and they all loved the pattern of the green that extended through the eye makeup, the necklace, and the stem of the grapes. This was the part of the assessment they showed on TV, and it was the least helpful to him. The part they didn't show was when the judges talked about the finer details, like construction tips, that he could use to improve his skills.

Alice was deemed safe despite Kurt's inner protest and it seemed he didn't agree with the judges on most things this challenge. Chantelle's apple red, bumped out at the waist dress seemed nothing special to him, but the judges were practically drooling over it. They were split on Blaine's dress, Heidi and the guest judge Annie liked it, Nina was neutral, and Tom did not. He was ruled in the top three but there was no chance of a victory for him.

It was draining mentally and physically to stand on that stage and listen to the judges, and Kurt was relieved to be dismissed back to the waiting room. When he saw the excess camera crew there, he almost cried, thinking that their planned afternoon off had been canceled. As the protests started flying in however, Tim was quick to assure they were just here to ask a few questions while the judges made their decision.

Kurt rolled his eyes and crossed his arms but he had no choice but to comply. They probably just wanted them to say inflaming things about the other designers again. He was always cautious about that; he didn't want to seem like a jerk, but he also didn't want to seem like a pushover. It was a thin line. Although, the editors would manipulate footage and shows things out of context so it's hard to have any control at all.

In a surprising change, the interviewers were actually asking about who they got along with. At first Kurt found this a pleasant switch, but soon it became a struggle of just how much to say. "Emmy's great, she's an absolute riot and a great designer, and Mary Jane is like the mother of the group, I don't think it's possible to dislike her, and working with Blaine on the partner challenge was fun, he's a good friend." The interviewer poked and prodded a bit more but Kurt kept everything he said pretty generalized.

The whole thing only took five minutes and as Kurt went to sit down, Harry took his place with the interviewer. Kurt was busy watching Blaine's interview, trying to look casual and not like he was panicking over how much Blaine was saying, when he felt a shiver go up his back. He turned to find Harry, and the camera woman with him, both staring at him. They quickly looked away but the exchange was enough to get Kurt's heart pumping. What was Harry saying?

"Everything okay?" Blaine asked, giving Kurt's knee a little tap.

"Hmm," Kurt hummed, coming back to himself, "oh, yeah." There was no need to get Blaine worked up about it too. And, to be honest, Blaine never seemed as concerned about it as Kurt did.

When the results were announced disappointment came with it as Chantelle took the victory. Sam went home, which proved that you could be a great designer, but if you could only do one sort of thing, it wouldn't be enough. Kurt thought that despite her overuse black she was still more talented than some of the designers left.

The sun was high in the sky as the contestants made the trek back to their apartment building and Kurt dreamed of a cool shower. "It'll be nice not having to leave," Kurt said before he could lose his nerve. "To go to different apartments I mean."

"That it will," Blaine said, a smile so big it stretched his face and made Kurt's heart clench. Sometimes it was all too much, being with Blaine, being on the show, _doing well_ on the show. It was cliche but it seemed so unreal at times that he feared he would wake up in his old bed in Ohio, back in high school back in a past that he was still trying to escape.

* * *

**I know the links haven't been working sometimes but I've started a new system so from now on (*fingers crossed*) the links should always work. However, if they don't, or if you just find them annoying, then you can also go to scarvesandcoffee and find the story there because the pictures are posted at the bottom. Thanks for your patience guys! **

**Kurt's piece (by Moschino Cheap and Chic- currently directed by Rossella Jardini): **imageshack(.us)/a/img46/3905/projectrunwaydress(.j pg)

**Blaine's piece (by Besses Dresses): **imageshack(.us)/a/img706/3905/projectrunwaydress(. jpg)


	10. Chapter 9

Something was off. The usually silent (at this time in the morning) designers were all talking loudly much to the annoyance of the employee at the front desk. Tim and Heidi were deep in conversation with one of the producers and even the camera crew seemed to be participating in the gossip.

Blaine reappeared at his side and Kurt perked up. "Well?"

"Chantelle's left!" he exclaimed under his breath.

"She quit?" Kurt asked, eyes wide.

"No, well technically yes, but not really. Apparently somebody, a producer or something, came into her room last night and told her something and then she just got up and left."

"Oh," Kurt said, his voice subduing, "I hope nothing bad happened..." His father immediately came to mind and with it a burning worry. It had been weeks since he talked to him.

"You're right," Blaine said, his eyes shifting downward, "we shouldn't be talking about it like this."

They stood in silence, both in their own worlds, but only for a few minutes. Tim then motioned for everyone to follow him to Parsons. Kurt wondered if there would be an explanation, and if so when.

He didn't have to wait long.

"Attention designers, we have some unpleasant business to deal with this morning." Tim stood where he always did, in the doorway of the workroom, but his face was grim and his eyes serious. "Chantelle has left the competition. There was a family emergency and she decided her place right now was with them."

Tim paused to let the words sink in. The news made Kurt's heart seize up although it relaxed quickly. If something had happened to his dad, or anyone in his family, he would have been told. Burt's health had been better in the last few years but with a heart attack and cancer on his record, Kurt never stopped worrying.

"I know many of you have been missing your families, so today you will all have a chance to talk to them."

Smiles broke out, Kurt's one of the biggest, but it dimmed slightly as he took in Blaine. He was smiling too but it was forced.

"And now onto the challenge- and somebody will still be going home so you better listen up. The guest judge for this week is... Veronika Grekov!"

Kurt's face lit up and he clapped loudly along with everyone else. Why Veronika Grekov, the recently American-famous Russian pop star, was here was confusing but exciting.

"Hello designers," she said, her accent strong but understandable. When she sang, often half in American and half in Russian, her accent was much less pronounced.

"Hello Veronika," they echoed.

"Now as you all know, where I come from it's a bit colder than it is here." She waited until the laughter died down and then continued, "This year I've been invited to attend the MTV Russia Music Awards, and as it won't take place until November, it's going to be pretty chilly. Now I already have a dress picked out but what I need from you is a warm, but fashionable, jacket that I can wear on the red carpet."

Tim jumped in then giving them all the details and showing them a picture of Veronika's dress. It was simple but classic: a long, black, lightweight wool dress with only a few jewels along the deep neckline to give it any pizzazz. Obviously it was the jacket that would make the outfit stand out.

"One last word of advice designers," Tim began, "this is a winter-wear challenge. Veronika will be taking the jacket off once she's inside so don't pick fashion over function- do both! Alright, let's head to Mood."

* * *

All day was filled with anticipated that came to a point when Kurt's name was called. It was finally his turn. He hurried into the side room where the calls were taking place and headed to a table on the left that contained a MacBook. He spoke briefly with one of the producers who told him the rules (no getting ideas/help on anything fashion related) and then, with the click of a button, his dad's face was in front of him.

"Hey kiddo!"

"Hi dad." Kurt's voice was wet and tears threatened to flow.

"How's it going there?"

Kurt bit his lip and then, smiling through it, he said, "Good, really good. I'm- I'm doing well. I mean it's extremely exhausting and I miss you guys like crazy but... it's amazing."

"Of course you're doing well," Burt said, getting that proud look in his eyes.

"What about you, how are you feeling?"

"Fit as an ox!" he said while doing some obnoxious muscle poses. Then, before Kurt could complain about him not being serious, he said, "Seriously Kurt, I'm fine, stop worrying so much."

Kurt could have argued, wanted to argue, but it wasn't worth it with the little time they had. "And Carole and Finn?"

"Good as well. Missing you obviously. And bragging about you. Finn's new girlfriend is a huge fan of the show and I can't help but wonder how much he used you to pull that one off."

The laugh came from Kurt's mouth before he could stop it and he shook his head, sharing a look with his dad. It felt like Kurt spent half the time being annoyed or angry at Finn but blood aside, he was his brother, and he loved him.

"So who's that guy standing behind you that keeps looking over here?"

"Huh?" Kurt turned around and saw Blaine standing at one of the vending machines looking like a deer in the headlights.

"I- uh I'm sorry- I'll just go-" he stuttered but Kurt just waved him over.

"That's Blaine, my incredibly nosy roommate," Kurt said with an eyeroll.

"Hi sir," Blaine said, coming to stand next to Kurt, "It's nice to meet you. Kurt's told me a lot about you."

"Roommate eh?" Burt asked with a raised eyebrow.

Kurt's face colored and he looked over at the producer who was sitting nearby. She was half turned away from them and her entire posture screamed an apology; she was intruding in this personal conversation and she knew it. There wasn't a choice though, she had to be there to make sure no illegal information was passed. At least there were no cameras.

"Yeah, roommate," Kurt said, and whether Burt fully understood Kurt's reasoning, he dropped it.

After a few seconds Blaine said, "Well I'll just leave now, let you guys have some privacy, I just wanted to say hello..."

Kurt realized Blaine was still embarrassed being caught in the room so he gave him a warm smile before he left. As he did the producer gave Kurt the sign that it was time to wrap it up.

"I have to go dad, but I really do miss you so much."

"I miss you too buddy, but we'll see you in just a few weeks. Me and Carole are flying out to visit once this thing is over, remember?"

Of course he remembered but it didn't change the fact that he wanted to see him now. And talk to him, really talk to him.

"I love you dad."

"Love you too Kurt. And break a leg!"

Kurt smiled but didn't say anything, and a second later the screen was blank.

* * *

Blaine honestly didn't know what to expect when Tim announced they'd be talking to their loved ones. During the application process they'd been told to give the numbers of a few people they'd want to talk to during the competition. After much deliberation, he'd written down only Cooper's. He was afraid if he put down his parents that they (i.e. his dad) wouldn't want to talk to him, and knowing that would be worse than not talking to anyone at all.

And not having anyone to talk to was what Blaine expected. Cooper wasn't the most reliable person, and with him always being on the go, it was hard to get him to sit still long enough to Skype.

So that was the reason he hesitated when Kurt asked if he could meet his brother. Blaine was afraid there would be no brother to meet.

"Hey squirt!"

Blaine blinked in surprise; Cooper had answered on the first ring.

"Hi Coop," he returned, a smile slowly appearing. "How are things?"

"Oh they're going pretty well," he said breezily, "I have an audition tomorrow. It's big, huge really. Can't say what for but I will tell you this, I have a really good feeling about it."

The familiarity of Cooper's voice and incessant talking about his career was comforting. But then Cooper surprised him for a second time by directing the conversation away from himself. "But what about you? How's the show going? I still can't believe you didn't tell me, that you let me find out from mom and dad!"

"Sorry," he apologized, "but I didn't tell anyone. Except mom that is."

"Oh I know," Cooper said, "Dad was so pissed!"

Blaine cringed but let a little hope seep in. "Was?"

"Eh, you know how he is, he gets mad quick but then he cools down."

For you maybe. His dad might cool down fast, but he was an expert at holding a grudge. Maybe he didn't do that for Cooper, or maybe Cooper just didn't notice, but that's the way he was with him. Blaine knew this little digression, plus his refusal to go to law school, wouldn't be easily forgotten.

"But Blaine," Cooper started, turning serious, "listen up. I know it's a fashion competition but what makes it important is that it's a fashion competition on television. Make sure they film you from your good side- the left- and I know it's a reality show-" Blaine rolled his eyes at the use of his brother's air quotes "but you're still an actor of sorts so I have a couple suggest-"

"Hey Cooper, there's someone I want you to meet," Blaine interrupted him. He quickly got up and motioned for Kurt, who was standing right outside, to come in.

"Cooper, this is my roommate Kurt and Kurt, this is my brother Cooper."

After Blaine had unceremoniously dropped in on Kurt's call, Kurt had insisted he get to do the same. Honestly Blaine had just wanted to get a glimpse of the man Kurt always talked about- the one who was a mechanic in rural Ohio and who accepted his son from the moment he came out.

"You- you're the guy from those credit commercials!"

"Yeah- wait what?" Blaine asked as he took in the tone of Kurt's voice. It was weirdly breathy and as he turned to look at him he closed his eyes and cursed softly.

"You're a fan?" Cooper asked, his excitement rising. "Blaine why didn't you tell me your friend was a fan!"

Cooper spent the next few minutes talking in depth about his roles after the credit commercials (mostly small but frequent enough to live comfortably) and Kurt hung on every word. The producer eventually had to get up and come over to the computer because Cooper refused to hang up.

"Cooper, seriously I have to go now, but I'll call you in a few weeks okay? I love you."

"I love you too B. And remember what I said early about being an actor! The two most-"

Blaine ended the call and gave the harried women an apologetic smile that soon had her relaxing. Kurt was quiet as they walked out before he said, "I can't believe your brother is the Cooper Anderson... Oh my god." Kurt suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned to Blaine with anguish on his face.

"What? What is it?" Blaine asked.

"I'm so sorry," Kurt whispered. "I just- I just monopolized your entire call with your brother when it was the only contact with him in weeks."

Before Kurt could continue to apologize Blaine waved him off. "Kurt, honestly, it's fine. He would have spent the entire time talking about himself anyway. And seeing the look at your face as you saw him was pretty much worth it."

Kurt laughed and a blush rose on his cheeks. "I'm sure I looked like a total idiot, mouth hanging open and all that."

Blaine sighed, "I remember when you used to look at me like that," he said in mock wistfulness.

"I still do," Kurt said, dropping the teasing tone.

But then they had to walk back into the workroom, under the camera's watchful eye, and pretend they were nothing more than, at the very most, friends.

* * *

Comparing himself to others was a bad habit of Kurt's. In middle school especially, he did it constantly, and it was much of the reason he distanced himself so much in high school. He figured if he couldn't be like the other kids his age then he should try and be as different as possible. That wasn't healthy either, and it earned him a not entirely unfair reputation as a conceited bitch.

The tendency hadn't given him trouble in quite some time, but it was today. As he looked around the room Kurt saw that most of the other jackets were not like his in the least. With Tim's emphasis on winter-wear he was literally creating a winter coat. It was chic and fashion forward but definitely not a traditional red carpet piece.

Strangely, Kurt took comfort in the fact that it was too late to change his jacket. He wouldn't have to deal with making the decision, or coming up with a new design, because the runway show was only a few hours away.

* * *

Kurt and Blaine took their seats, next to one another as usual, and Blaine latched on to Kurt's hand for support. Last night, in the comfort of their bed (after that first night they never slept apart), Blaine shared a not so well kept secret: he was a huge Veronika Grekov fan. Blaine loved most pop music, but Veronika was a giant among giants. The only person who rivaled her was Katy Perry.

The other day Blaine had been so shocked he wasn't able to react properly (or perhaps improperly) but today was another story. He sat frozen, staring with his mouth half open, as she talked with the other judges. Not only would he get to meet her, but she'd judge his clothing, and if he was lucky, she might even wear it.

Blaine always worked hard at challenges, but this one took it to a whole new level. Besides the quick phone call with his brother, he hardly took a break the entire time. The jacket he envisioned was complicated but he would settle for nothing less with this challenge. Blaine knew Veronika's style- traditionally more feminine stuff. This surprised a lot of people who only listened to her music because it was often about female empowerment and equality. Blaine couldn't count how many times he had to explain to somebody (guys and girls alike) that just because she was a feminist didn't mean she didn't like to dress "girly".

Basically, this challenge catered to all Blaine's strengths. His style (as he'd discovered through the competition) was cute, wearable things, and that's exactly what Veronika would want. Plus, although he'd never made a coat from scratch, he'd mended countless ones before. Winter jackets were one of the things that most often came to his mom to be fixed. Then, finding the pastel-pink colored wool in Mood had been the icing on the cake.

Blaine's piece was the first to walk the runway and he craned his neck, practically getting out of his seat to try and get a glimpse of Veronika's face. But the lights were too bright and he was too far away to see anything so he slumped back down.

"It looks amazing, Blaine," Kurt said, and the other designers echoed his sentiment. Blaine's lips turned up into a smile and he relaxed a little.

The relaxation didn't last long though. The runway show was soon over and the judging began.

"Since there are only seven of you, we've decided to keep you all up here for the judging. And, despite Chantelle's unexpected leave, someone will still go home today," Heidi said.

Blaine nodded along, silently urging her to go faster, his entire body thrumming with anticipation. Finally the models were brought out and the judges started talking. As people were given feedback it seemed to Blaine like the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. Kurt's was too wintery, Harry's was too lightweight; Emmy's was too flashy, Stephan's was too boring; Alice's was too short, Mary Jane's was too long. Blaine just hoped he could be just right.

"Okay Blaine, tell us about your piece," Heidi said as she turned to focus on him.

"Okay well first, I just have to say that Veronika, I am a huge fan." Blaine knew it made him sound like a total fanboy, but he couldn't help it. "And I know what kind of stuff you like to wear- wow I sound like a stalker-" he said, getting everyone to laugh, "and I just thought this fit your style."

"You're right on that account," Veronika said,"I absolutely love it."

After that Blaine was on cloud nine. The judges positive comments floated over him but nothing touched what Veronika had said. She didn't offer much more, and she hadn't for the others either, because she wasn't a fashion expert. But she was the one who would have to wear the jacket, so her support in conjunction with that of Heidi's, Michael's, and Nina's made him golden.

"Blaine, I think you're going to win," Kurt said excitedly once they were in the waiting room.

"I know!" he responded, unable to keep his hopes from rising.

Blaine waited in the waiting room, and then waited in the walk to the runway, and then waited for the cameras to get set up, and by the time it was all said and done Blaine felt like he was going to explode.

Then Heidi was doing the introduction and suddenly, "Blaine, congratulations."

Choking on his own breath, Blaine managed to thank the judges and Veronika and she even got out of her chair to come up and hug him. It was unbelievable, Veronika would be wearing his jacket.

Blaine rode the high for the rest of the day and, by his estimation, he would continue to for the rest of his life. The mood was dampened a bit when Mary Jane went home, but they'd all seen it coming for a while. Things were coming down to the wire and with immunity not being granted to challenge winners anymore, people had to bring their A-game everyday.

"Veronika Grekov," he muttered into Kurt's hair later that evening.

"You know, if you weren't gay, I'd be extremely worried," Kurt said, a chuckle on his lips.

Blaine smiled and kissed the top of Kurt's head before succumbing to sleeps' lure.

* * *

**Idk, I feel like the pacing is a little off in this chapter, but I don't want to bore you by describing the same competition aspects of the story every time. Let me know what you think!**

**Kurt's piece: **imageshack(.us)/a/img708/3905/projectrunwaydress(. jpg)

**Blaine's piece (FLENKIY): **imageshack(.us)/a/img594/3905/projectrunwaydress(. jpg)


	11. Chapter 10

**Sorry it's pretty late, I just got wrapped up in dARREN GOING ON FUCKING TOUR and have spent all day trying to figure out ticket business. (If anyone's going to his show in Silver Spring let me know!) **

**But here we go... only 3-4 more chapters to go!**

* * *

Blaine's kid knew what she wanted and wasn't shy about it. "Orange." The words were on his lips, the condescending tone in his throat, but they would not surface. Hope and happiness was exuding from her face in a way that was almost blinding. Blaine looked to her mother who shrugged and said, with a wink, "I guess you'll have to make it work."

"Please tell me the rumors are false and you aren't making an orange wedding dress," Kurt said in one big breath. Not even two minutes had passed and Blaine was already having to answer for his decision.

"Where'd you hear that from?" he deflected.

"Nevermind that, it's not true is it? Oh god it is," Kurt said, slumping his shoulders in defeat. "Are you trying to lose on purpose?" he demanded, but then his expression softened and his voice dropped (from where it had been at almost a yell). "You're not throwing the competition are you? Because I thought we talked about this, you deserve to be here Blaine. You're talented, you-"

Blaine put a hand firmly on his shoulder to stop him. "Kurt, please stop, it's nothing like that. Jonea, my client's daughter, really wanted orange, so that's what I'm going to give her."

Wedding dresses were the challenge but, as usual, there was a twist: all their clients had kids. Most of the kids, including Jonea, were from a previous marriage although there were a few born out of wedlock. And these kids weren't just hanging around and looking cute, they were getting in on the design process. According to the rules the child was an equal partner of their mother and had just as much say. Basically, the designers had to please not just one client but two.

Blaine knew most of the designers would try to manipulate or even just plain ignore the children (because honestly what do most 7-11 year olds know about high end fashion?) but he saw it as a gift not a curse. When Jonea was talking about a big princess dress with lots of jewels Blaine was excited; not just for the dress itself but for what it would mean to Jonea.

Her mother, Shelly, revealed that her previous husband abused her. Jonea had been pretty young when Shelly left him and physically he'd never left a scar on the girl, but mentally he had. To Jonea, Dave (Shelly's fiancee) was her mom's prince and all she wanted was for her mom to play the princess. So that's why Blaine would settle for nothing less than a frilly, bedazzled, orange princess dress, and if that sent him home, so be it.

Kurt clucked his teeth and said, "Blaine, I admire your dedication to Jonea, it's really sweet, but you have to think of what's best for you right now."

"Look, I'll explain to you in detail later, but trust me, I have to do this."

And that's all it took. Kurt was stubborn, persistent, opinionated, and all of that, but he also knew when to back off. Or maybe, just maybe, he really did trust Blaine.

"Besides," Blaine started, attempting to lighten the mood, "shouldn't you be celebrating over this decision? This is a competition and if my dress goes poorly you'll be person closer to getting to the finals!"

Kurt lips quirked but no smile broke through. In fact, he seemed more solemn than before. "You know that's not true," Kurt said slowly. "Of course I want you to make it to the finals, and then..." he trailed off.

"And then you'll beat me," Blaine said without missing a beat or smile fading. Then, before Kurt could speak up, he continued, without much conviction, "Or I'll beat you. Whatever! We knew that from the start Kurt, there's no use in denying it now."

In Blaine's mind there was no way he could ever beat Kurt. He was the stronger designer, not just in practice but in dedication too.

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it," Kurt finally said.

By then they had reached Mood and split up to do their own shopping. As Blaine watched him go he was struck by the seeming irrelevance to him of the things Kurt was so worried about. When it came to the two of them together, it didn't matter who won or loss the competition, at least not to Blaine. Earlier Blaine might have wondered what Kurt would do if Blaine did somehow win, but not anymore. Come what may, Kurt and him were in it for the long run.

* * *

All day Blaine's comment was an itch Kurt couldn't quite scratch. Obviously he knew one, or both, of them would lose at some point but it was only starting to feel real now. Kurt still had utter confidence that he could win the whole thing, but with it came beating Blaine, and that was unsatisfying. Blaine would understand, but Kurt just worried it would strain their relationship. It was already precarious enough with its secret nature (something Kurt knew Blaine was unhappy about despite never having brought it up) and with some added jealousy it could all fall apart.

Also, there was a hidden, dirty part of Kurt that asked what would happen if Blaine beat him. Could he get over it? Could he stand to be with the man who was responsible for dashing his dreams? On paper yes, but in reality, Kurt had his doubts. He knew it made him an awful, spiteful person, but he couldn't help it.

So he refused to think about it, because it was easy enough to ignore the problem until it went away or demanded to be dealt with, especially with everything else to keep his mind off things. And once he did, the day became quite pleasant.

Kurt was in a cold forest, or snowy field, or perhaps downtown New York in the dead of winter. Wherever he was it was silent in the way it only gets when snow is falling, and the white flakes shone in the darkness, shone so bright he was able to make out each intricacy. They weren't what caught his eye though, it was the ice. It was the frozen pond to his left, the icicles that hung from the lamppost, the way the smallest tree branches were completely crystallized. Snow was playful and frivolous but ice, ice was power. It was strength, it was harsh, but its beauty paled to none.

When he opened his eyes he was, of course, back in the workroom, but the image still danced in his head. He quickly grabbed a pen a sketched a few things but went straight to work almost immediately.

Dianna, and her daughter Marissa, were Kurt's clients. The wedding was being held in mid-January and both girls agreed since they were having a winter themed wedding they wanted a winter themed dress. Beyond that the two of them didn't have many ideas so Kurt was able to give options and make suggestions in a way that got him what he wanted without it feeling like he was forcing them into anything. The art of subtle persuasion was something he learned well having the roommates that he did.

Kurt envisioned a completely beaded bodice that tightened at the waist (his client had a lovely waist, especially for someone her age) and then a bigger, almost poofy bottom half. There would be scattered beading patterns along the bottom too, but not nearly as many as on top. Also, Kurt was determined to get back into draping with this piece. It was one of his staples, his signatures, but his last couple garments did not reflect this.

That evening, as Kurt sat down with Blaine for a quick dinner, he inquired about the good mood. So Kurt told him all about his love for weddings. At one point in time, Kurt even considered becoming a wedding planner. Being the big romantic that he was, weddings were the cream of the crop. They weren't like Valentines Day- full of cliches, manufactured romance, and people get laid in the name of "love"- they celebrated love and commitment and would always hold a special place in his heart. Married by thirty legally used to be, and still was, his dream.

Kurt looked up frequently as he talked to gauge Blaine's reaction because it wasn't often that he could talk with another guy about marriage, even in the abstract, and have them not completely freak out. Blaine looked completely comfortable though, and added a few visions of his own, although they were a lot fuzzier than Kurt's. To be fair, everything seemed fuzzy in comparison to the not one, but multiple, complete weddings Kurt had planned out.

The meal was short lived as usual and soon they were back to work until the clock chimed nine. They were getting off a little early tonight because all the next day would be a work day as well. Still, both were exhausted, and by the time they collapsed into bed around ten, there was no energy to do anything but a little pillow talk before sleep.

It was then that Blaine told Kurt all about his client, and her daughter, and why he did what he did. As he spoke Kurt snuggled in closer and when he finished, Kurt kissed him on the top of the head and mumbled, "You're so amazing."

Blaine squirmed a little and Kurt knew he was smiling that bashful smile without having to see it. Then he said, "I think I want to work with kids... I really do."

"You'll be great at that," Kurt said, his brain already conjuring up images of Blaine surrounded by children, somehow looking more adorable than any of them.

A content sigh exited Blaine's mouth and his eyelashes started to flutter. "Go to sleep," Kurt said with a chuckle, and Blaine took him up on that not a moment later.

* * *

Kurt was pulled from sleep by the sound of muffled voices outside the room. At first he thought it was Stephan and Harry but that made no sense, they hardly talked, especially not in the morning, but it wasn't until there was a knock on the door that it all clicked. Kurt jumped from the bed, waking a confused Blaine in the process, and landed on the other bed just as the door swung open.

In came two cameramen with all their equipment but they startled upon noticing the boys. Kurt had sweats on thankfully but no shirt, and he was just sitting on his made bed which he's sure was a weird sight. They'd been told the camera crew would occasionally film in the mornings to get a glimpse of what the daily routine was like but Kurt had assumed they'd be warned.

"Uh," Kurt rasped in a scratchy voice which he then attempted to clear. "Hi. We um- we're running a little late, our alarm didn't go off, so if you could come back in a little bit..." Kurt wasn't exactly sure how it worked but obviously they wouldn't be filming them walking around in their underwear, would they?

"Oh, yeah, okay," the first, balding man said as he backed out of the room.

Once the door was closed Blaine got up, stretched his arms over his head, and let out a yawn. Then he turned to Kurt and asked, "Hey, do you want the bathroom first?"

Kurt, whose heart was still pounding, narrowed his eyes, his incredulousness growing."Blaine," he said slowly, "do you realize what just almost happened?"

"Umm," Blaine hesitated.

"We almost got caught-" Kurt stopped to lower his voice, "in bed together on national television!"

"Nah, they weren't even filming, and had they been we could have gotten them to cut it." That was the wrong answer.

"No!" Kurt hissed, "I will not let you minimize this. Had I not heard them, had I not moved five seconds before they got here, it would have been all over!"

"All over? Kurt what are you even talking about? I don't see why this is such a big deal..."

"You promised me," Kurt said, his voice dangerously low, "you promised we could keep this a secret. And now you're trying to go back on that?"

"No, Kurt, that's not what I'm saying at all," Blaine said, taking a step towards him. "It's just- no harm no foul right? We'll be more careful from now on and-"

"I'm going to use the bathroom," Kurt said abruptly, and turned on his heel, leaving a still sleepy Blaine standing in the middle of the room alone.

* * *

Blaine felt like crap all day and for a good reason. That morning he'd been a complete jackass. He'd been demeaning, flippant, and completely wrote off Kurt's feelings. The need to apologize ate at him but he didn't know how to without making it obvious to everyone what was going on; and that's definitely not what Kurt would want right now.

He waited until Kurt entered the common room and, after verifying all the other designers were in the workroom, followed him. Kurt was facing a vending machine, his back to him, and it gave Blaine a minute to compose himself.

"Hey, Kurt?" He phrased it as a question, unsure what the response to be. Kurt turned and he didn't seem to be angry so Blaine launched right into it. "I am so, so sorry about this morning. I wasn't thinking properly because my brain was all muddled with sleep- and I'm not using that as an excuse or anything, just- basically I was a jerk and I'm sorry and I uh-" he glanced around quickly, "I understand what you want and I'm completely okay with that."

Kurt was quiet for a moment and then he said, "Thank you. And I overreacted, so I'm sorry too."

Blaine nodded and closed his eyes for a few seconds. "Kurt, I just care about you so much, and I don't know exactly what we are, and I don't even care, I just know I've never felt like this about anyone before."

"Me neither, me neither," Kurt assured him. "I care so much about you too. And I know it's going to be tough, but I really think waiting until after the competition before we do anything official will be best."

"That's fine, you're right," Blaine said. It was only a few more days before they took the three month break before the finals. They could figure it all out then.

"And we probably should sleep together anymore... just in case."

"Right, of course."

Once that was over, Blaine went back to work with a clear head, feeling significantly better. His wedding dress was really coming along nicely and now all he had to do was make sure Shelly and Jonea liked it.

Blaine had just started adding some fake gems to the lace on the bottom half of the dress when he saw, or rather heard, Jonea come in. She squealed loudly and ran over to Blaine's work station.

"It's perfect!" she said, her fingers already stretching out to touch.

"Careful," Blaine warned, and although it wasn't said harshly, her hand recoiled quickly. She settled for standing about two inches away from the manakin and just staring.

"Is it okay?" Blaine asked Shelly softly, away from her daughter's ears.

"It's wonderful," she said with an uncontained smile.

The three talked for a few more minutes, discussing shoes and makeup and accessories, before Tim called out that they had five minutes left.

"Oh, Shelly, before you go, I have to measure your uh, chest area." The dress was strapless so Blaine had to make sure it wasn't going to come down on the runway. He tried to be professional but a blush lit his cheeks and Shelly must have noticed.

"So I'm guessing this isn't really your area of expertise, is it?" Her voice was teasing but her smile was warm.

Blaine laughed softly as he began measuring. "No, not really."

"It's him over there, isn't it?" Shelly asked, nodding her head in Kurt's direction.

The laughter stopped abruptly and Blaine stiffened. He knew he wore his heart on his sleeve but he didn't realize it was that bad. No wonder Kurt got angry, everyone in a five mile radius probably knew about the two of them just because of his face.

Shelly noticed the change in demeanor and started to apologize.

"No need, no need," Blaine said, bringing his smile back, "I was just caught off guard is all."

He didn't comment on whether she was right and she didn't ask for clarification. She left with Jonea a few minutes later and Blaine threw himself back into his work. He closely monitored himself and found that he looked over at Kurt more often than he should, and even though he was usually looking back, he forced himself to stop, for Kurt's sake.

* * *

The runway show was different this time because the kids were sitting with the designers. A few pairs sat together in awkward silence, but others, like Blaine and Jonea, chatted animatedly as they waited for the show.

The women looked fabulous as they came down the runway and their daughters were so excited to see them. They clapped and cheered when their moms appeared and bragged a little to the other girls. Everyone looked so beautiful and it warmed Blaine's heart that they could help these women start a new, happier part of their lives.

The judging when it came to client challenges was always tough because the judges didn't want to step on any toes. They were always kinder and made sure when criticism was necessary, it was directed all at the design and not at the client. Nobody wanted to be told on national television that they looked awful in what they were wearing.

But with this challenge, that wasn't a problem, because all the dresses were gorgeous. Blaine supposed that at this point in the competition everyone left was extremely talented.

At first Blaine feared he might go home, but after he told his story about why the color orange was chosen, and Jonea gave her first hand testimony about how Blaine listened to everything she wanted, the judges seemed to back off. They still thought a solid orange dress was strange for a wedding, but it was nice in construction and taste, and the clients were happy, so he was deemed safe.

Blaine waited in the waiting room with Sam while the other's fates were decided and Kurt was next to enter, his smile too big for his face. "Congratulations," Blaine said, pulling him into a quick hug. "It's probably getting pretty boring isn't it? All this winning?"

"The feeling never fades," Kurt said, and they both laughed.

Then, their moods were improved even further when it was Stephan who went home. Admittedly, he hadn't been as bad lately (or perhaps that was just in comparison with Harry), but neither were sad to see him go.

"Just one more challenge to go," Kurt said on their walk home, his face alight with excitement.

And just a few more days until we can be together, Blaine thought, feeling pretty excited himself.

* * *

**Kurt's piece (Maggie Sottero): imageshack(.us)/a/img820/3905/projectrunwaydress(. jpg)**

**Blaine's piece (Elysemod): imageshack(.us)/a/img534/4194/projml(.jpg)**


	12. Chapter 11

**If any of you have read my previous works then you should have seen this coming... I'm simply not cut out for fluff writing**

* * *

As Kurt settled into the chair, it hit him that he wouldn't do another interview for a few months. In two days the last person would be eliminated, and the remaining four would be finalists. That meant that they would each return home and have three months to create an entire line of clothing, and that collection would determine the winner. Lucky for Kurt, he would have a significant amount of time off work to focus solely on his collection. Technically he wasn't supposed to tell anyone if he'd made it to the finals or not, but Isabelle had told him if he got back and felt he needed some "time off", they'd be perfectly willing to let him work part time for the summer.

The interviewer shuffled the papers in her hands a few times and then gave Kurt the signal. "Kurt, today marked the start of the very last challenge, what does it entail?"

"This challenge is the same as the first one, create a piece that embodies who you are as a designer."

"So what are you doing differently this time than you did before?"

"Everything," Kurt said, huffing out a laugh. "I'm kidding of course, but this competition has helped me grow as a designer in so many ways. I'm just trying to incorporate all I've learned- to show the judges how far I've come since the beginning."

"Regardless of what happens tomorrow, you'll be going home, so what are you looking forward to most?"

"My family, my bed, my friends..." he trailed off, "This has been a wonderful experience, but I'm really looking forward to getting back to my normal life."

"Speaking of your normal life, how do you think your time on Project Runway will change it?"

"Well I plan on working on my collection for the next three months," Kurt said with confidence, "but even beyond that, I hope that I have been able to showcase my talent and make enough connections that I will more easily be able to break into the fashion industry."

The interview centered around Kurt's overall experience on the show and his future plans, straying from previous focuses like the latest challenge and the other designers, until the end. With one last look downward, the interviewer met Kurt's eyes with a small smile on her face. "One last thing Kurt, there have been rumors going around that there's a little romance going on between you and fellow designer Blaine Anderson, care to comment?"

Kurt shouldn't have commented. It would have been the professional thing to do, but instead he panicked, and royally fucked things up. "Well that's just completely untrue," he said, willing his face not to give anything away. "Blaine and I are just friends, if even that. Quite frankly I find the kid's enthusiasm a little annoying- he's like a big puppy." Kurt's strained laughter was echoed by the interviewer's, sounding equally as forced, and the interview stopped there.

The tension, manifested by whispered comments between the camera crew and the interviewer refusing to look at him, hung in the air as Kurt gather his stuff. The only saving grace was the intense awkwardness was sure to get that question cut in the editing process. For some reason he'd reverted back high school defense system- cutting others down. It left a bad taste in his mouth and he couldn't wait to get out of there.

Kurt exited the conference room and headed to the lobby where the elevator door was just about to close. "Hold the door!" he called, rushing forward to press elevator button. The door opened back up and standing inside was Blaine. "Oh hey," Kurt said, a smile spreading across his face, "What are you doing here."

Blaine didn't answer right away and it gave Kurt a chance to really look at him. He stood stiffly as if he was afraid to move and although his expression was neutral, Kurt knew something was very wrong. But before he could ask what that was Blaine spoke. "I just came down to say hi to my friend, or can I even call you that?"

It took a moment but when it clicked, Kurt felt his stomach sink. "Come on Blaine, you know all that stuff I said was just for the camera."

"Do I?" Blaine asked, his emotions threatening to break through the facade. "Because honestly it's all still a little fuzzy. You say you wanted to keep this a secret because it would look unprofessional, but the show isn't airing for months, Kurt. And by the time it does do you think anyone is going to care? And either way, you didn't have to be cruel about it. You didn't have to insult me in front of the whole world."

"I'm sorry about that, I really am," Kurt said, taking a step closer. They had gotten off the elevator but were still in the hallway, not making any move towards their room. "I panicked. But you know it isn't just that, I don't want to broadcast my whole personal life on national TV."

"I'm not asking you to broadcast anything, I'm just saying it sucks to hear someone you care so much about say they're nothing to you. I know it's only two more days but-"

"Two days?" Kurt asked, his brows furrowing.

"Until the competition is over... until we're going to be together..." Blaine trailed off, sounding equally confused.

A wave of nausea came over Kurt as he realized the misunderstanding. This was huge. "Blaine, if we're both finalists, the competition doesn't end for three more months..."

Blaine gasped quietly and began shaking his head. "You mean this summer- that entire three months- we're not-"

"I mean we can still see each other," Kurt cut in quickly, "and be together, but publicly just on the down low."

"You don't want to be with me," Blaine said in the same quiet voice as he took a step back.

"No of course I do! It's just, if the judges found it, it could..." Kurt grappled for a reason, eventually saying, "it could change things." It was a lame excuse but he couldn't put into words what he was feeling. Perhaps he didn't even know what he was feeling.

"How! How, Kurt?" The softness was gone, replaced by anger. It was if all the feelings that Blaine had been holding in were now exploding out in short bursts.

"If you really like me, why can't you wait three months?"

"If you really like me, how can you stand to?"

Neither had an answer so they stood there, breathing hard, waiting for the silence to be broken. Finally Kurt began, "Look, let's talk about this later-" but Blaine didn't let him finish. "No, I'm tired of avoiding this, we can't just ignore it!" Quiet fell again.

"I can't do this," Blaine said, looking Kurt in the eyes. "I can't do this for another three months."

It was a question, and Kurt's silence was the answer.

"Wait," Kurt called when Blaine was halfway down the hall. Blaine turned back once more, a little hope on his face, which made Kurt wish he'd never opened his mouth. Because he had nothing for him. Blaine realized that after a moment, and his face turned to one of disgust, as he turned his back on Kurt once more.

* * *

The anger started to fade before Blaine has even made it to his room. He bottled things up, but once they were out, not usually by his own accord, they soon dissipated. Replacing the rage was an intense, aching sadness. He had known things with Kurt were too good to be true, and he was right.

The borderline scalding water washed over Blaine and he stood there, unable to find the motivation to even wash his hair. He thought taking a shower would clear his mind, but it only gave him more time to think. And his brain wouldn't shut up. It was obvious to him that Kurt didn't care about him like he said he did, but what he couldn't figure out is why Kurt had let it go on so long. It was possible that it was all a plan to eventually mess with his mind and get him eliminated, but there were too many instances where Kurt helped him overcome his insecurity or self-proclaimed defeat and do well in a challenge. So the only other thing Blaine could think was that Kurt simply didn't care as much as Blaine did. Maybe this was only meant to be a fling and he got freaked out that Blaine wanted more.

The thoughts swirled wildly in his head and he let them be swallowed up by the drain. Once he stepped out of the shower he shoved his headphones in, turned up the music, and let everything be drowned out. He wasn't in the right state of mind to be doing any deep thinking right now; he could only continue to hurt himself.

Though it was only seven o'clock, Blaine climbed into bed and shut his eyes. His head was pounding, partly from the loud music and partly from the crying he'd done earlier. Unlike many guys his age, he wasn't afraid to cry. He'd read once it was the body's way of getting back to homeostasis, and whether that was true or not, he took it as fact. After crying he felt better, and that was reason enough to do it.

* * *

Everything since that moment in the hallway life had been a painful blur. Sometimes, for a few seconds, Blaine would forget why he felt so awful, and then it would all come rushing back. Or he'd turn to say something to Kurt only to swallow the words in his mouth. When it got especially bad Blaine wondered if he should have just agreed to wait those three months; surely even that wouldn't be worse than this. But he knew a clean break would be easier than having Kurt string him along only to cut him loose later on.

Surprisingly, his work didn't suffer. In fact, he, as well as Tim, was overly impressed with his piece. It was more mature, more innovative than his dress from the first challenge, but it was still him. While his emotions raged on the inside, his hands were smooth and efficient as they cut and sewed the white dress to perfection.

Kurt, on the other hand, seemed to be having a harder time. Frustrated noises and hushed curses came from his station which was common for many designers but not for him. He was usually the definition of poised. It made Blaine a little happy, and a lot guilty, to know this was hurting Kurt as much as it was hurting him.

The day passed quickly and that night brought the first time Kurt and Blaine were forced to interact since the fight. Whatever time Kurt had come in the night before Blaine was already asleep, and by the time Kurt woke up this morning Blaine was ready and in the common area. The familiarity of them getting ready for bed, the way they knew each other's schedules and accommodated without a second thought, only served to remind Blaine of what he lost, and to mourn what could have been.

Sleep didn't come as easy that night. Blaine lied awake thinking of the next day. He felt fairly confident he'd make it to the finals and that shone as the only good thing in his life right now. As long as he was still in the competition he'd get to keep designing and putting off what came next for him. He wasn't like Kurt, he didn't have connections in the fashion world that he could use his time on Project Runway to strengthen, he'd have to start from scratch in the industry. And there had been plenty of Project Runway finalists over the years; it would take him winning the whole thing to get any serious traction. But he would get a job at some local coffee shop or grocery store, and use the 8000 dollar stipend to create his collection, and that seemed like a pretty good summer to him.

* * *

Alice chattered on and on to both their benefits. For her it was a release of nerves, a way to control that tight knot in her stomach, and for Blaine it allowed him to be elsewhere. Kurt was talking with Emmy although he didn't seem to be saying much either. Blaine was watching him out of the corner of his eye and saw him glance over a couple times, but their eyes never really met. Alice had noticed and asked about the tension, one of the things Blaine actually caught in her soliloquy, but he'd shrugged and offered nothing and she had well moved on.

Only Harry sat alone as the lights dimmed and the show began, and even in his state, Blaine felt in awe by the production. It was the shortest show of them all, there only being five pieces, but the lights seemed to shine brighter and the models looked even more stunning. Everything was heightened. For Blaine it was over too soon, and when the magic went the reprieve from the storm cloud that followed him did too.

The judges went round and round, praising them all, congratulating them on how far they'd come. They announced there would be four finalists but that when they returned, one would be eliminated based on their collection before it was even shown at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. To Blaine, that would be the most disappointing; spending three months creating a line that wouldn't even get to walk the runway.

Then, without much warning, Alice was declared the winner of the challenge. The black maxi dress had moved incredibly, flowing up and around the models legs without hindering her walking. Harry was told he was safe next, and Blaine began to sweat a bit. There was now a sixty-six percent chance that either he or Kurt would be eliminated. If that happened, there wouldn't even have needed to be a fight the other night. They could have been together during the summer and for the indefinite future, never knowing how close they were to losing it all.

"Blaine," Heidi addressed him, "We're so proud to see how far you've come, but we're still worried that you're not quite innovative enough, why do you think you should be a finalist?"

"Well, I think I represent the more client-based side of fashion. I know how to work with people and give them what they want, while still making it my own. I'll always be a commercial designer, but I think- I know I can make a collection unique enough to stand out, while still being something people will actually wear."

The judges nodded, conferred quickly, and then Heidi smiled brightly at him. "Congratulations Blaine, you're a finalist, you may leave the runway."

Breathing out, Blaine felt lighter than he had in days as he walked off the stage. He turned back for a second to see the two figures left standing, Emmy and Kurt. Kurt would of course be the last finalist. As much as the judges pretended not to, Blaine knew they took into account what a designer had done previously when picking the finalists. The dress Kurt made this week wasn't his best, but he was far too talented for them to let him go now.

Blaine was proved right a few minutes later and despite everything, Blaine was so relieved when Kurt walked through that door with a smile on his face.

* * *

The only sounds were drawers opening and closing and zippers being zipped. It drove Kurt a little bit crazy but he knew he was in no place to do anything about it. Whether or not he regretted what he did wasn't clear yet. He knew when he looked at Blaine that his heart ached worse than it ever had. He knew that he already missed him even though they hadn't left yet. But still, the decision stood. He meant what he told Blaine, if he couldn't wait three months for him then obviously he didn't care as much as Kurt had thought.

Then Blaine finished packing and an even more awkward silence overtook. Blaine was fiddling with his phone which they had just recently gotten back from the producers, but Kurt knew he was really just biding his time. To break the silence or not to. Eventually Kurt needed to end it, needed for him to be gone. "Goodbye Blaine," he said, his voice slightly scratchy.

"Goodbye," he replied so softly that had Kurt not watched his lips moved he wouldn't have heard it. Then he was gone, leaving Kurt alone.

It took a few more minutes before the finality of it sunk in. He didn't have Blaine's phone number, or email, or anyway to contact him. He knew he lived in Queens, near Parkside, but that was it. And he was just as in the dark about Kurt's information. Funny as it seemed, all of that had been completely irrelevant until now. So as Kurt stood in the now empty apartment, he realized after a full month of seeing Blaine everyday, he wouldn't see or even talk to him for another three.

* * *

**So, what'd you think? Thanks for all your lovely comments so far btw, they never fail to bring a smile to my face :)  
**

**Kurt's piece (Burberry): **imageshack(.us)/a/img23/3905/projectrunwaydress(.j pg)

**Blaine's piece: **imageshack(.us)/a/img69/3905/projectrunwaydress(.j pg)


	13. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! This chapter follows the boys during their three month break before the final competition. It's pretty quick but I wanted this fic to be almost solely about their time in the competition. The finale will be split into two chapters and those will be the last two chapters in this story other than a possible epilogue. Thank you so much for staying with this story, it turned out being a lot longer than I originally intended!**

* * *

Burt got the whole story out of Kurt easily. A little too easily actually. Kurt was itching to confide in someone about the whole thing and who better than his dad. He didn't offer too much in the way of advice, he mostly listened. He did, however, make one comment. "Well Kurt, here's what I know. You've told me more about Blaine, who you've known for a month, than you did about that Tyler bloke who you dated for a year. And quite frankly, I feel like I'm not getting the full story here."

When Kurt asked him to explain what he meant by the full story he just deflected which was extremely irritating. Kurt had told him everything, what did he mean by that? He continued to think it over and eventually some things fell into place and the truth, which was probably there all along, was brought to the surface.

Tyler had been a great boyfriend. He didn't forget anniversaries, he knew just how to cheer Kurt up on a bad day, and he, upon discovering Kurt was a virgin, never pressured him, and when they eventually did it he was sweet and caring the entire time. Kurt was still so insecure though, his past still haunting him, and Tyler didn't know how to deal with it. That wasn't the reason they broke up but it did put a bit of strain on their relationship.

Still, Kurt fell more and more in love with him each day. Under normal circumstances he would have gushed to everyone about it, and he did with Rachel and Santana, but with his dad he didn't. There was still some lingering uncertainty about how he would react, but beyond that there were other reasons. Kurt had the mentality during most of the relationship that he didn't deserve Tyler. He honestly could not see why Tyler had chosen him. To tell his dad, to have Tyler meet the family, it seemed too big an investment in someone Kurt was sure would eventually leave.

When they broke up it hit Kurt hard. Tyler hadn't cheated, he wasn't cruel about it, only honest. They had been growing apart. Their interests didn't overlap much at all, and with both of them getting busier, school and an internship for Kurt, medical school for Tyler, finding time to spend together was becoming more of a burden. Later Kurt could admit this, but at the time he saw nothing but Tyler leaving him.

Kurt had wanted to think he outgrew that and found confidence in himself, and he had in many ways, but as he examined his experience with Blaine he saw some scary parallels. The thought of Blaine leaving him had been so painful, so daunting, that Kurt had done it himself. He threw excuses at Blaine in the hopes that it would make them come true, but excuses is all they were. Deep down, it was his own insecurity that ruined this. This deep seated fear, that was planted in a small town in Ohio, that he would never be good enough.

* * *

The summer passed in fits of energy followed by slow, hot stretches. Kurt would get an idea and work for days on end from the time he got home from work to the time he fell into bed, leaving only the bare minimum for sleep. Other times he would go weeks without a solid idea or direction, spending days on a garment only to scrap it in a frustrated outburst at two in the morning.

He was more volatile than ever before and he knew why. It wasn't that he needed a man in his life, but the way things went down, and the thought of seeing him in just a month was wearing on him. Kurt wanted him back but he had no idea what to do.

The only boy he had ever actively pursued was Finn back in high school. After that he was much more cautious, and when he came to New York, where the boys was bolder, it was easier to just let them come to him. But now he couldn't sit back and relax.

For a long time Kurt was stuck on trying to figure out who had technically ended what he and Blaine had, but eventually he realized that wasn't the real problem. The problem was Kurt refused to start something. It wasn't about having to wait three months that bothered Blaine, it was that Kurt hadn't wanted to have a real relationship with him. For that reason Kurt would have to be the one to fix things, and he was ready to do that.

Kurt was debating telling Rachel his plan, or rather lack of one, the morning they walked into a little coffee shop in SoHo. Kurt was picking up some more fabric and Rachel had insisted she come with him, claiming they didn't spend enough time together anymore. The topic of Blaine had just come up again, because ever since Kurt had spilled to her she brought it up as often as she could, when he saw him.

"Shhh, shut up!" Kurt hissed, giving her a jab in the side. As soon as the lady with her three kids passed Kurt was able to see again and yup, that was definitely him. He was sitting with a smartly dressed asian guy who looked a few years older than him and Kurt tried to ignore the flame of hurt in his chest. They didn't look very cosy but even if that wasn't his boyfriend, Kurt had to assume at this point Blaine probably did have one.

"Who are you looking at?" Rachel asked as she tugged him forward to close the gap in the line.

Kurt turned to face forward and said, "No one," but Rachel wasn't fooled. It only took her a few seconds to follow his line and sight and gasp, and then to pull him away from the line and towards to table.

"That's him isn't it? Well let's go over there! You said you wanted to get him back didn't you?"

"No way," Kurt said, planting his feet. "Besides, I already have a plan."

She stopped. "Seriously! What is it?"

"Well uh, I haven't ironed out the details yet but..."

Rachel, hand on her hip, huffed and raised her eyebrows. "That's what I thought. Now after we get our coffee we're going over there, no arguments!"

As they waited for the few people in front of them to order Kurt fiddled with his ring and tried to stop himself from glancing over at their table every few seconds. If Blaine noticed him he hadn't looked over here yet. Soon they had their coffee in hand and Rachel, true to her word, practically corralled Kurt over to the table by the window. Blaine's back was to them as they approached so the asian man noticed them first and gave them a strange look.

"Hey, Blaine," Kurt said just as he swiveled around in his seat.

Blaine's eyes widened and Kurt saw his fist which was resting on the table clench and unclench a few times.

"Kurt, hi."

The silence that followed was excruciating but Kurt was determined to push past this; they were adults after all. And while this wasn't the time to get him back, Kurt could show him that he still cared. "I was just picking up some stuff for my collection," he said, raising his bag, "and I thought I'd say hi. How is yours going?"

"It's coming along, and I'm sure yours is already great." The complement seemed forced but it was better than nothing.

Rachel then jabbed Kurt in the side and made a tiny, agitated noise. "Oh right, this is my friend Rachel. Rachel, this is Blaine, a fellow contestant on Project Runway."

"It's so great to finally meet you," Rachel said, reaching forward to shake his hand with an almost manic smile. Kurt blushed at the insinuation and although he didn't comment, the slight quirk of Blaine's lips left Kurt cringing.

"This is my friend Wes," Blaine said, and Wes nodded slightly. Whether the piercing gaze was in response to something Blaine had told him about Kurt or just his normal expression Kurt didn't know, but it was making him uncomfortable.

"Okay well... it was nice seeing you..." Kurt said, ready to make an exit.

"Yeah, see you in a few weeks," Blaine said.

Once they were outside Kurt breathed a sigh of relief, but with it came regret. Maybe he should have tried to apologize- Blaine might be confused if he tries to get him back later when he didn't do anything now. But then he thought back to Rachel and Wes being there and he realized there was nothing he could have done.

"He's cute," Rachel said, linking her arm in his. "You two are going to make an extremely attractive couple. You know it's too bad your kid couldn't have both-"

"Rachel," he said with a sigh, "I messed things up remember? Please, just let me get him back before you start with all your insanity."

* * *

"So that's him," Wes said once the bell had rung to signal their exit.

Blaine nodded jerkily and looked down at his coffee which was now lukewarm. It was so unexpected that the entire time Blaine felt like he was grappling for how to act. Should he have been cold? Should he not have talked to him? Obviously not, but Blaine didn't know how to be around him anymore. He didn't know what Kurt wanted from him.

Then of course there was Rachel's comment about having heard about him. The little creature in the back of his mind whispered that Kurt had been making fun of him- telling Rachel all about how desperate and weird he was- but Blaine pushed it away. Kurt might not want to be with him, but he'd never act like that. Plus, there was a blush on his cheek as she said it so dare he hope maybe...

"Blaine, stop thinking," Wes commanded. "That guy has given you enough trouble this summer already." Blaine started to protest because really, he'd barely mentioned Kurt at all, but Wes continued, "Don't think I haven't noticed how down you are, or the fact that you keep rejecting the guys I try to set you up with."

"Lawyers are stuffy and boring," Blaine complained, all in good fun.

Wes wasn't having the mood change, though. "Seriously, be done with him. Focus on clothes. Go back to that competiton, win, and then never see him again."

Blaine frowned at the thought. Never seeing Kurt again... that just seemed so extreme. But maybe Wes was right, maybe Blaine was still in denial about all this. In his mind, Kurt had ended it. If he thought seeing each other only in secret constituted as any kind of healthy relationship he was wrong. And he didn't seem too upset with his decision judging from that short conversation, so he probably should just get over the guy.

"You know what, maybe I will give that guy Ben a call," Blaine said.

"Good man," Wes responded, taking out his phone to text him the number.

* * *

With only two weeks until competition time Tim came for his summer visit. Blaine was the last of the four designers to be visited and therefore he had the least time to make any changes. Albeit, he also had the most work to show Tim so there were definitely pros and cons.

To his embarrassment, nobody was with him when Tim came. Most designers had their families or friends there but it just hadn't worked out for Blaine. His parents politely declined his invitation and Cooper, who would usually be all up for any screen time, had an audition he simply couldn't miss. To his credit he really did sound sorry but it still hurt. Blaine had at least thought his roommate Josh would be there but his sister was getting married so not only would Blaine have to miss that, which he'd been looking forward to, but he'd also be alone. Wes had offered to come over but Blaine let him off the hook. He was a shy guy who knew nothing of fashion and Blaine knew it would just be uncomfortable for him.

If Tim was surprised when he opened the door to find only Blaine in a cramped apartment he didn't show it and Blaine welcomed him along with the camera crew inside. Things were social at first, Blaine served him some cheese and wine and since it wasn't too hot they sat on the small patio outside to talk. Blaine explained how he was living with a friend from college and Tim made jokes about the cleanliness of the apartment- something Blaine worked hard on the last couple days because while he was pretty neat, Josh absolutely wasn't- and the conversation was kept light.

A drizzle began to fall as they were finishing their wine and that was their cue to get back inside and start the real reason for the visit. Blaine's hands fiddled with the buttons on his shirt as he led Tim to the back room and once they stepped inside Blaine averted his gaze, still messing with his shirt.

Tim hummed quietly and walked the length of his clothes rack, sifting through the pieces on it. Blaine held his breath as Tim turned to him and then he sucked in quietly, realizing what Tim was waiting for. "Right, okay so, this is my collection. I was inspired by the city, New York that is, so the buildings are where all the geometric shapes come from."

"Ah, another one inspired by the city," Tim said quietly, shaking his head when Blaine asked him to repeat himself.

"I know I need to have at least one gown, and that's what I'm working on now," Blaine pointed to the near empty manikin, "but I'm having a little trouble."

"Well now, I don't like to think there are any requirements for fashion, but I think your collection would do well with a gown. Just make sure it fits in with the collection as it is, you have a very strong cohesive link at this point."

Blaine nodded, biting his lip as he watched Tim look over his clothes again. "I like it," he announced, turning to face Blaine.

A smile washed over Blaine face and he let out a sigh of relief. Now that he knew Tim was on the same page they could talk specifics. Many of the necklines and lengths of the dresses were similar, and Tim expressed his concern, but Blaine stayed strong. He wanted the geometric theme to be portrayed not just in patterns but in the overall shape of the garments too. He did agree to vary some elements though- Tim was the expert after all. Despite everything Tim still thought the collection was a bit too commercial, so Blaine promised to use the next two weeks to be more adventurous.

Tim was in the midst of adamantly warning Blaine, with hand motions and all, not to forget how important styling was for the final show when he tripped and almost banged his head against the wall. Blaine yelped and grabbed his arm to steady him. "Oh my god I'm so sorry are you okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine," Tim said with a slightly forced chuckle. The thing that had tripped him was a guitar and Blaine quickly moved it from where it was leaning against the wall to the very back corner. "You play?" Tim asked.

"Yeah," Blaine said, "this used to be my music room. My piano is at my friends and my keyboard is in that closet over there."

"You did win that music inspired challenge," Tim said with a warm smile.

The camera crew got a couple more shots of his house and of Tim and him together before the went out the front door. Blaine followed them to it, hugged Tim goodbye, and, with hesitation, asked, "So, how did all the other designers look?"

"Now, now, you know I can't say anything about that," Tim scolded lightly. "But he's doing well, and his collection is fantastic obviously."

"I- what?" Blaine stuttered out but Tim was already on the front porch. Surely that couldn't be a reference to who he thought it was...

"Goodbye Blaine," he called, giving him a last wink before turning and getting in the back of his car.

* * *

"You all set? Got everything you need?"

"Yes dad," Blaine huffed as he got his bag from the trunk. "Seriously, it's like five days, what could I have forgotten."

Wes gave him a look but didn't answer. He'd insisted on dropping him off and Blaine thought he knew why. Sure enough the speech came a moment later. "Now listen Blaine, Kurt's going to be here and I know-"

"Okay Okay I get-"

"No Blaine," Wes interrupted, "listen. I know seeing Kurt is going to be hard, and maybe, maybe you can figure this thing out afterward, but under no circumstance are you going to let him distract you right now. This is your big chance Blaine, don't let him take that from you."

"He wouldn't try to take anything-"

"Promise?" Wes asked as if he hadn't said anything.

"Promise," Blaine mumbled.

With a smug look on his face Wes drove away and Blaine looked up at the familiar Atlas building. Although he couldn't prove it, he just knew that Kurt was up in their suite waiting for him.

* * *

**Sorry if anyone wanted the angst to end- not quite yet! See you all next week!**


	14. Chapter 13: Part 1

**Just a warning I took two AP tests today so sorry for any editing errors!**

**Now as you can see from the title this is only the first part of the chapter this is centered around what, on the show, is the Project Runway finale. In case you don't watch and are confused by all this, here's what you need to know: The way the Project Runway finale works is after the final challenge the four people spend three months creating a collection. Then they come back and show the judges two pieces of clothing from that collection as well as one they made while being there (it works like all the other challenges they had). The judges then choose the three they like best and those people get to show their entire collection at Mercedes Benz fashion week.**

**This chapter is focusing on just the first part of that, the narrowing down to the three ****_final finalists, _****and then next week will Mercedes Benz fashion week where the winner of the competition is chosen.**

**Wow guys we're really winding down with this! Hope you like the direction Kurt and Blaine are going this chapter...**

**UPDATE: I tried for a very long time to format the song part better (it's in italics) but the site won't let me space is correctly. Any suggestions?**

* * *

The churning in Kurt's stomach was almost unbearable and was alleviated only a slightly by his steady pacing around the room. He fought the urge to go back to the window and watch Blaine walk in. Instead he checked - again - to make sure the keyboard was set up and turned on. It had taken a lot of convincing for the producers to allow it but eventually they gave in.

Minutes ticked by slow as molasses as Kurt waited. Surely Blaine should have made it up to the room by now. All four of the finalists were staying in this suite, but this time they would each have their own room. The place was significantly nicer than where they had stayed during the normal competition

The knob began to turn and the air left Kurt's lungs. It was time.

* * *

Blaine had walked as slowly as possible to the room, simultaneously dreading and looking forward to what was coming. It was entirely possible Kurt wasn't there yet, or that Harry and Alice were there too, and Blaine didn't know which he would prefer.

He finally approached the door and took a deep breath before turning the knob and stepping inside. He walked in backwards, under the guise of making sure his suitcase made it through the threshold, but really he just wanted another second to compose himself. When he did turn he saw Kurt standing in the middle of the room alone, his hands clasped in front of him. He looked unusually vulnerable.

"Blaine, hi," he said, his tongue peeking out to wet his lips. "I-I want to play you something?"

Kurt was waiting for Blaine's approval, and although Blaine had no idea what he was talking about, he nodded slightly. Kurt nodded back and a nervous smile crossed his lips before he went to sit behind a keyboard Blaine had not previously noticed.

After taking a quick swig of water, Kurt took a couple deep breaths and simply said, "This is for you."

The intro was quite long and as Blaine watched him he guessed it was on purpose. The longer Kurt played the more comfortable he seemed, and by the time he started singing the tension in his shoulder had almost completely disappeared. It was a familiar tune but it wasn't until the chorus that Blaine was sure he'd heard it before.

_And I've been housing all this doubt and insecurity _

_And I've been locked inside that house all the while You hold the key _

_And I've been dying to get out and that might be the death of me_

_And even though there's no way in knowing __Where to go I promise I'm going because_

_I gotta get outta here _

_I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake _

_I gotta get outta here __And I'm begging You, _

_I'm begging You, I'm begging You _

_To be my escape_

Kurt's voice was high and clear and so pretty. The song was stripped down considerably from the original and with only the keyboard for backup Kurt's voice stood out.

Kurt kept his head down, seemingly focused on the sheet music, but Blaine could tell from the way his eyes weren't moving that he didn't need to. He had the song memorized. But then Kurt did lift his head and glanced at Blaine before singing the next few lines.

_And this life sentence that I'm serving_

_I admit that I'm every bit deserving_

_But the beauty of grace is that it makes life not fair_

Blaine stood, still just a few steps out of the doorway, and felt his whole world turn upside down. He's spent the majority of these last three months convincing himself Kurt didn't care about him and then he comes back to find this. He didn't know what any of this meant but he swore there were tears in Kurt's eyes and it made him want to wrap the man in his arms and kiss them away.

_I've gotta get outta here_

_I'm stuck inside this rut that I fell into by mistake_

_I've gotta get outta here_

_And I'm begging You, I'm begging You, I'm begging You_

_To be my escape_

When Kurt finished the last chorus and the music began to slow down Blaine thought it was over and started to move towards him but suddenly Kurt was singing again and looking directly at him as he did. If there were any tears earlier they were now gone and sad, but hopeful eyes had replaced them.

_I fought You for so long_

_I should have let You in_

_Oh how we regret those things we do_

_And all I was trying to do_

_Was save my own skin_

_But so were You_

_So were You_

Goosebumps erupted across Blaine's body and he fought a chill. "Wow," was all he could manage.

"I made a mistake before," Kurt said, his voice quavering, as he stood from the keyboard and took a step in his direction. He stopped though, and left plenty of room between them. "A huge mistake. I- you were right. It wasn't just about the competition, there were other things, past experiences, that made me fear commitment. But I'm ready now, I want to be with you."

"But this is exactly what you wanted," Blaine said in a small voice, "to wait three months."

Kurt paled slightly and opened and closed his mouth a few times. "I-wait- no I-" he stuttered, sounding completely flustered. "This had nothing to do with that I swear! We- we can tell people! We can talk about it in an interview or tell the judges or whatever you want. I don't care Blaine. I just don't want to lose you."

I don't want to lose you either. But Blaine couldn't say it. Not yet. Wes's warning was still too fresh and Blaine needed to think this through. His heart often steered him in the wrong direction and only later, when his brain caught up, would he realize his mistake. He couldn't afford to get hurt like that again.

"I need some time," he finally said, "to think things through."

Plastering a smile on his face, Kurt said, "Right, yes, of course." Neither of them moved for a moment and then Kurt said, "Well I'll just go back to my room then..."

But before he could move Blaine said, "You have a beautiful voice. Really, it's stunning."

"Thanks," Kurt responded, a light blush lighting his cheeks. Then he retreated to his room where Blaine could hear him flop down on his bed and groan into the pillow.

* * *

Blaine's reaction made perfect sense. It was a lot to throw on a guy he hadn't seen or talked to in three months. A guy who he had hurt. So Kurt was staying cautiously optimistic because he couldn't give in to despair right now. The competition had started again and Kurt needed to stay in the right mindset.

Tomorrow was the runway show, held on the familiar Parson's stage, that would determine which three people would take part in Mercedes Benz fashion week. They were instructed to make one new piece to go with their collection and chose two others and those three pieces are what the judges would see. Harry was off at Mood with Tim but Kurt, Blaine, and Alice had opted to use the fabric they brought from home to make this final garment.

It was customary to have to make another outfit to go with the collection so Kurt had already designed what to make. The blank tank top would be a nice offset to the otherwise heavy collection. It was supposed to be representative of winter in New York after all.

Blaine had mentioned last night that his collection was also inspired by New York and Kurt wondered in what way. He would have asked but the air had been so thick with tension he couldn't get the words out. The designers had gotten together for the traditional toast to celebrate being finalists, but unlike what Kurt guessed happened most years, as soon as the cameras left so did the designers. It was still a bit awkward between him and Blaine, and it wasn't a secret that everyone hated Harry and vice versa, and even Alice wasn't in the mood to chat. After a few conversation starters died they all gave up and retreated back to their rooms.

If nothing else, Kurt hoped he and Blaine could stay friends. It would be painful because Kurt knew what Blaine's lips tasted like and what he body felt like against his but it wouldn't be as painful as losing him forever. Blaine had been more than his lover, he'd been his friend.

Earlier, Alice had come over and looked and his collection, and he had done the same. Her pieces were strong but not, he thought, as strong as his. Blaine and Alice did the same thing, looking at each other's clothes, exchanging advice, but he and Blaine hadn't. Kurt wanted to go over there but he wasn't sure if he was welcome. He tried catching Blaine's eye and it only took a few minutes before he was successful and, reading him easily, Blaine waved him over.

Kurt swallowed the need to explain his hesitation and instead just walked over to the rack where Blaine collection hung and sifted through the pieces. "I like these a lot," Kurt said through a smile. "Architectural inspiration. Very cool."

"Thank you," Blaine said brightly.

They stood together at Blaine's work station and already it felt less weird than it had the night before. "So what are you working on today?"

"I'm trying out a new style of skirt," Blaine responded. "I know a lot of my pieces look kind of the same so I'm trying to mix it up."

Kurt hummed and nodded. "Well don't change too much, I really do think it's great. Want to come see mine?"

Blaine did so they walked across the room to Kurt's area.

"Seasonal inspiration. Very cool," Blaine said after a few minutes.

He was the same old Blaine- goofy but sincere.

"Seriously though, it's fantastic Kurt. It's so different, I've never seen anything like it before."

"Let's just hope it's a good different. But thank you," Kurt added. He knew his inability to take a compliment could get annoying, and that's the last thing he wanted to be right now.

"So how was your break?" Blaine asked, surprising Kurt. It was small talk but it was a start.

"It was good. I worked a lot, on this and at my internship, but it was good. What about you?"

"Good as well. I got a job, at um, the Bean actually, so I was there a lot as well as working on my collection. It's a temporary job, at least I hope," he said with a laugh, "but you know, I'm still not exactly sure where I'm headed yet so..."

Kurt ignored the reference to the coffee shop, unsure how to respond, and instead said seriously, "There's nothing wrong with that. Better to take your time and decide rather than rush into something you'll regret ten years down the line."

Blaine smiled and met Kurt's eyes in a way that had his stomach swooping. It was if they were in those early flirting stages all over again. "Very true."

After that they had to get back to work but any remaining tension was gone. They exchanged comments throughout the day as they worked and ate dinner together, using the time to further discuss what they had been doing for the last few months. It was as if they had fallen right back into things.

But of course it was different, because when they went to bed that night there was no lingering goodbye complete with a kiss. Still, this meant a friendship was possible, and that gave Kurt hope.

* * *

Blaine's emotions were at war with each other. No, scratch that, his emotions were at war with his head. While he was still swooning over Kurt's performance, his mind insisted it was just that: a performance. His brain screamed that Kurt was just playing him while his heart told him the hurt on Kurt's face after he told him he needed some time couldn't have been fabricated. He understood well what it was like to have ghosts from his past tinging his behaviors, but perhaps that was just another excuse. Blaine knew what he wanted but that wasn't enough anymore.

Taking his own advice, Blaine decided only time would tell. Once the dust cleared and the initial reactionary emotions were removed he would know what to do. Or at least he hoped.

That didn't mean, however, that he couldn't be friendly with Kurt. He realized that might be in conflict with getting some headspace to figure things out, but he couldn't stay away. Things with Kurt were just too easy. The chemistry between them - platonically, that was - hadn't faded in the least. (And if he was being honest it hadn't sexually either- curse him for looking so good in those obscenely tight grey jeans).

Tuning back in just in time, Blaine was able to give a somewhat coherent response to Kurt's question on the styling of his collection. He didn't feel too bad about it because really he was just a prop to Kurt's inner dialogue. Kurt had a habit, one Blaine used to tease him about, of, when making decisions, having a "conversation" with Blaine where really he just talked out the options and made the decision on his own. Sure enough, Kurt thanked Blaine but went with the other kind of jewelry.

Blaine looked over his own models again, feeling a bit nervous for being done ten minutes early. The other designers seemed the be milling around too, though, and being uncomfortable with the lack of last second rushing. It was a strained couple minutes before Tim took them down to the runway.

The two looks Blaine had chosen to show along with the one he had just created were his gown, a mostly white, floor-length dress that had a slit right in the middle of the skirt and a long sleeved grey dressed that was framed in yellow. Those garments along with the black and grey mini dress he had made over the past two days had similar necklines and patterns, enough to make them seem like part of a collection, but were also different enough not to appear repetitive. It was a little deceiving because two of the dresses he left behind were extremely similar to each other, while also being a lot like the dresses he was showing, but the judges didn't need to know that.

As he watched his pieces come down the runway he was overtly pleased with the outcome and only hoped the judges felt the same. Harry's pieces were different from the style he'd had during the competition- they were very colorful and (in Blaine's opinion) gaudy with all the clashing colors and patterns. But the switch didn't surprise Blaine; Harry and Kurt's style had been somewhat similar and the judges always seemed to favor Kurt. Perhaps Harry felt he couldn't be Kurt at his own game, so he decided to play a different one.

Kurt's clothing, as always, was stunning. The three outfits he showed were the black tanktop and jeans he had whipped since arriving, one of his black fur coats also matched with black jeans, and his grand finale black floor-length gown. It was chic, it was fierce, and it was Kurt. There was no way the judges wouldn't love it.

Alice took the opposite approach that Kurt did by focusing on the more traditionally feminine, the "girly", side of things. Her dresses were cut interestingly, with asymmetry being a theme, but they flowed and sparkled almost like princess costumes. There was a definite beauty to the way the pieces moved and caught the light, and Blaine liked it very much. Currently there was a lot of backlash against the rejection of traditionally feminine clothing simply because they were traditionally feminine, and Blaine saw this being an ode to that.

When the lights came up and the designers were standing in front of the judges Blaine felt the expected nervousness bubble up in his stomach. The familiarity was almost a comfort. The judges started with Kurt and slowly made their way down the line.

They questioned Kurt on whether his line was all black and he assured them that no, he had a few tan and grey pieces too. The monotone colors were a bit of a surprise coming from Kurt, who, although hadn't been overly colorful, didn't usually use black either. There seemed to be one person each season who completely shunned color, and that person this year had been Sam not Kurt. As a whole the judges had been very impressed and Blaine could see the relief mixed with pride on Kurt's face.

The judges were less impressed with Alice. They felt that while aspects of her pieces were nice, as a whole they were trying too hard to stand out. "Your clothing should be powerful enough to deliver without having to rely on crazy asymmetrical cuts and over accessorization." Also, it was deemed too predictable. So maybe it wasn't a good things that femininity was a pattern in fashion lately. Alice looked close to tears by the end and Blaine's heart ached for her. He could only hope Harry received even worse.

On that front, Blaine was disappointed. For some insane reason, the judges loved Harry's collection. They felt it was new and fresh and apparently just on the right side of gaudy. To make matters worse, they all had to deal with Harry's beaming face and smug attitude as he soaked up the praise. Blaine could see Kurt gritting his teeth behind his smile and he was doing the same.

When Blaine's turn came it seemed almost anticlimactic. He explained his inspiration and before the nerves could even fully set in they were being alleviated by the judges declarations of approval. They especially liked the long-sleeved dress and Blaine felt very lucky considering he almost didn't show that piece.

"There is one thing we're a little concerned about though," Michael said as he looked down at his notes, "all of your necklines are the same, is that a common theme? And what about dress length? Does that vary throughout your collection?"

So they had been talking to Tim. There was no other way they could have known the similarities between his other pieces if they hadn't. Blaine had always guessed that when he watched the show but now he knew it to be true. Part of him was a bit embarrassed, he hoped the judges didn't think he was trying to pull one over on them, but it was probably good this came out now so he could get some advice.

"The necklines are steady across the collection, but the lengths vary," _a little_, he added mentally. "I think the shape of the pieces are part of what makes the collection cohesive."

"That's true," Nina conceded, "but it can also make things boring. Perhaps you could switch things up, just on a piece or two."

It was a suggestion that Blaine didn't quite know what to do with. Sometimes the judges liked to see that designers stuck to their guns and didn't compromise their style, but other times they got angry if their advice wasn't taken.

Blaine simply nodded and said, "Okay," and then the judgement was over.

Back in the waiting room Kurt and Blaine sat in comfortable silence. There really wasn't anything to say; they could only wait. The clock ticked loudly and Blaine tried not to stare at it as that only made time pass more slowly. He itched to reach out and grab Kurt's hand but at the last second he refrained. As if hearing the inner struggle, Kurt looked over and him and offered a small smile.

It was exactly thirty-eight minutes before Tim came back. There was no winner for the challenge, only a loser. Or, Blaine supposed, an optimist would say there were three winners. Heidi had the stage and all four designers had their eyes trained on where she sat.

"Kurt," she said, leaving a long pause, "Congratulations, you are a finalist! You may leave the runway." Kurt shook slightly with happiness and he wiped at a few tears as he thanked the judges. As he left, he walked behind the lighted screen at the end of the runway and did a cartwheel which everyone could see because of his shadow. Blaine laughed out loud and even Alice, who was looking paler by the moment, chuckled.

It was no surprise that Harry was the next finalist announced which left Blaine and Alice. Although Blaine knew the likely outcome, as did Alice who was gripping his hand tight, his heart was still pounding out of his chest. "Blaine..." Heidi paused, the silence being almost comically long this time, "you will be the final designer competing at Mercedes Benz fashion week. Congratulations!"

It was a whirlwind, thanking the judges, hugging a crying Alice, and speed walking back to the waiting room. Kurt engulfed him in a hug as soon as he entered the room but gasped after a second and began to pull away. Blaine didn't loosen him arms though, not until Kurt had relaxed back into them and completed the hug. When he did pull away both their eyes were wet with tears. This wasn't about what happened between them, this was about them achieving the impossible, this was about getting to chance to make their dreams come true.

* * *

**The song Kurt sang was Be My Escape by Reliant K and you can find his version by going here: youtube(.com)/watch?v=J7jwB4u99MY  
**

**As for the clothing I'm waiting until the second part to show you! See you all next week for the finale!**


	15. Chapter 13: Part 2

**Here it is guys, the final chapter. There will be an epilogue after this but more about that at the end, for now just read.**

* * *

One day. That's all the time the designers had before the final runway show. The judges didn't instruct Kurt to change much so he focused on nipping and tucking and few pieces and making sure each fit the model to perfection. Without Alice it was strangely quiet. Her presence had brightened the room, something Kurt didn't notice until she was gone.

The day, to Kurt's annoyance, was filled with interviews. They were constantly being singled out and told to come to a side room to film. It was worse for Blaine, though. He was trying to do some major construction on a few of his pieces and the fire in his eyes was clear when he got called out for a third time. Still, he plastered that smile on his face that Kurt could barely tell was off and conducted the interview with the utmost politeness.

Time passed agonizingly slow, leaving Kurt to glance at the clock every ten minutes. In less than twenty four hours he would be showing at a real, professional runway show. And not just on any runway, but on the main stage during Mercedes Benz fashion week.

They had until 11 that night to keep working and all three of them worked until the end. There always seemed to be one last little thing to fix, or for Blaine, a last minute decision on which pieces to show. He had created a new top for one of his dresses, a dark blue shirt with a collar and long, sheer sleeves, something with a different neckline in accordance to the judges wishes, but he wasn't sure it fit well with the rest of the collection. With about two minutes left, he decided to keep it, a good decision in Kurt's opinion.

Harry hadn't talked to either one of them all day, and he continued that trend when they got back to the apartment and he grabbed a water bottle before retreating to his room. Kurt and Blaine spent a little time in the main room, chatting and eating a small snack, but soon they too went to bed. It was late and they had to be up in five hours.

But despite the fact that Kurt's body was exhausted, he couldn't sleep. His mind was racing and every position he tried felt uncomfortable. Eventually he got up and went to the kitchen area to get some water.

"Can't sleep?"

Kurt startled and spun to face Blaine who was leaning against the counter.

"Sorry," he said, lowering his voice, "didn't mean to scare you."

Kurt waved off his apology and took his glass of water into the common area. Blaine followed and sat next to him on the couch, leaving only an inch or two between them. "I don't think I'll be getting much sleep at all tonight," he muttered.

"Me either," Blaine said.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Kurt felt a pressure building in his chest. He didn't recognize what it was at first but then his eyes were watering and he knew.

"Kurt?" Blaine asked, leaning over to look him in the eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Kurt choked out, trying his best to blink away the tears.

"Come here," Blaine said, pulling Kurt towards him until his head was resting on his chest.

Kurt attempted to control the little sobs that were trying to escape and while he managed to stifle the noises his chest still shook. "I'm-I'm sorry," Kurt said, his shaky breathing making his words stutter, "It's just so overwhelming, the runway show tomorrow, everyone seeing my designs, them announcing the winner," you, he thought but didn't add. "It just feels like my whole life has led to this point and if I fail... well I don't know what I'll do." Gone was the confident exterior that got Kurt through so much; it was the little voice in the back of his mind that had taken over now.

A soothing hand rubbed up and down Kurt's back slowly and Blaine simply listened and said nothing. Then when he spoke he only murmured softly, "That's right, let it out Kurt, don't be afraid to cry." Kurt let go and the tears streamed and the sobs wracked his body but it was over almost before it had begun. He had already calmed down significantly.

When he finally quieted he sniffled a few times before looking up at Blaine and apologizing.

"Hey now, don't apologize. Remember when I had my little breakdown a while back? You helped me through that, and we barely knew each other then."

"But you had a reason," Kurt argued, thinking back to Blaine's confessions about the uncertainty of his future.

"And so do you," Blaine said gently.

Kurt continued to lay on Blaine until it was obvious that he was feeling better and no longer needed to. "Sorry if that made you uncomfortable," Kurt said once he was sitting upright again.

Blaine grabbed Kurt's face and forced him to look at him before saying, "Kurt, listen to me, none of that made me uncomfortable." He paused and then continued, "Being with you is so easy, and it's what I want, and sometimes I wonder why I don't just go for it because it doesn't make sense to deny myself this happiness..." It almost seemed like he was talking to himself towards the end but then he reigned it back in. "But anyway, I just can't, not quite yet."

"I understand."

Things were quiet again but then Blaine asked a question, a question that surprised Kurt. "The other day, after you sang that song, you said things from your past had been affecting you, what were those things?"

An answer didn't come right away because Kurt was deciding how much to tell, and eventually he chose everything. He told Blaine about Karofsky, the parts he skipped over last time, the kiss in the locker room, the death threat, the lingering looks in the hallway, and how he was the only gay boy he met before moving to New York. Then he told him about the string of one night stands that he mistook for a relationship a couple months after getting to the city, and how that sucked all the romantic notions he had out of his head. He told him about Tyler, about how he had started to heal him, but that it wasn't enough, that he needed to heal himself. He even told him about Marcus, the only guy he'd thought about opening up to since Tyler, and how he cheated on him before he got the chance. Blaine was quiet all the way through, minus a few pained noises at the mention of Karofsky.

"And then there was you. I saw the same thing happening again, me falling for you and then you leaving, or cheating, or wanting something else, and I couldn't let that happen again. So I convinced myself you were only with me because you had limited options, and that you would leave me as soon as the competition ended, that way it felt like I was only breaking up with you before you broke up with me. But I realize now that being with someone, loving someone, is a risk, and I don't care if you're going to leave me in a week, I still want to be with you. Because a week with you is better than nothing at all."

Blaine nodded a few time and then swallowed hard before leaning forward and gathering Kurt in a strong hug. The hug lasted for quite some time and before pulling away Blaine whispered, "I'm not going to leave you, I'm not going to leave you."

Even though the embrace was over their hands were still intertwined and their bodies were pressed against one another. After Kurt yawned for a third time Blaine sat up straight and shook him slightly. "Come on Kurt, if we go to bed now we can still get two hours of sleep." Kurt started to move but before he stood up Blaine leaned after and planted a kiss on his head. "Soon," he mumbled into his hair. Then he got up and offered his hand to Kurt.

* * *

Blaine knew he should be putting the finishing touches on his collection but he couldn't stay away from the backstage TV that showed the runway. Kurt was the first of the three to show his collection and he was just getting ready to do his introduction.

"Hello everybody, my name is Kurt Hummel. I grew up in a small town in Ohio where anything but jeans and a t-shirt was considered a fashion statement. Regardless, I somehow developed a keen sense of fashion which, with the help of my fairy god mother Isabelle Wright, landed me a job at Vogue and a spot at Parsons. Now I'm ready to take the next step and I hope this collection will take me there. I want to thank my family, but especially my dad, for supporting me all these years. Thank you!"

Kurt left the stage and Blaine could see him standing a few feet away with Tim, both of them glued to the monitor. Looking up at his own screen, Blaine watched as the show began. The clothes were feminine but tough, and Blaine could so clearly see the fashionable and powerful women of New York parading around in them. The small, pointy, black caps were a little strange, Blaine thought, but to each his own. The only word Blaine could think to describe it as was fierce. It represented who Kurt was a designer so well and Blaine felt an overwhelming wave of pride wash over him.

As soon as it was over Blaine ran back to where his models were getting ready and made sure everyone was wearing the right thing. Suddenly it was time to line up and he was leading the models to the stage when he noticed the fourth in line, Marina he believed, was wearing the bad shoe. Somewhere in the scuffle of getting everything to the stage today, one of the shoes had gotten a white scratch across the top. Luckily he had an extra pair just in case but apparently she hadn't noticed and wore the wrong ones.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," he cursed under his breath as he debated running back to get them. His makeshift, backstage work area was only a few yards away and he started to go when the producer yanked him back.

"Where are you going, you need to go on stage and make your introduction now!"

"What do you need?" Kurt asked, materializing beside Blaine.

"The black shoes in my work area need to be put on model four- the ones she is wearing are scratched."

He had no time to give a better explanation or even thank Kurt because suddenly he was practically be pushed out onto the runway. Taking a deep breath, he put on his performance face and stepped into the spotlight.

"Hi everyone, my name is Blaine Anderson! The judges really took a chance with me, letting a young guy with no professional fashion experience be on their show, and I hope I can prove they made the right decision tonight. I want to thank my family, and all of you in the audience for being here today and putting up with this digression from the more seasoned designers. Enjoy the show!" he called as he waved and walked off stage. Then he took his place by Tim to watch the show.

"Very nice Blaine, very nice," Tim said beside him as the models walked.

It was surreal seeing the pieces he'd worked on for so long walk down the stage, and almost a little disappointing at how fast it went. The runway gave the pieces a boost, made them look better than ever before, and Blaine wished he could capture it and keep it forever. Somehow he knew photographs just wouldn't be able to show the magic of the runway.

Once every piece had been shown all the models walked out together with Blaine following them. He waved to the crowd and just tried to soak the experience in. Never before had Blaine felt so proud of something he'd done, and he wanted to remember this forever.

Harry's collection had already walked, during the time Blaine was prepping for his own show, so when he reentered backstage he watched the replay on one of the TV screens. It was a solid collection, very forward, very unique, but it lacked a clear client. Who would actually wear that stuff? Blaine didn't know.

Then he went off in search of Kurt who he found deep in conversation with Tim. "Kurt!" he called, walking up to them. "Thank you so much for helping out with that shoe debacle." He'd had his eyes glued to the models feet when she entered the runway and breathed a sigh at the clean shoes.

"Don't worry about it," Kurt said with a breezy smile but Blaine knew this was no small deal. Kurt wanted nothing more than to win Project Runway, yet here he was at the final stretch, helping out an opponent without even being asked to.

The process of undressing the models and getting everything packed up to move back to Parsons took almost an hour and by the time they got into the cars, all three men were suffering from some serious anxiety. Harry attempted to seem unaffected but he had a nervous twitch that he couldn't shake, Kurt was excessively picking at his cuticles and he appeared to be bleeding slightly on more than one finger, and Blaine had broken out in a cold sweat and felt quite nauseous.

Finally they reached Parsons and all three exited the car on shaky legs and made their way to the familiar runway. The judges were already there and deep into discussion when they walked out on stage. Immediately the talking stopped and the makeup crew came out to do a few finishing touches and that was it, they were ready.

The final critique wasn't so much of a critique, but a congratulations. The judges only had nice things to say and didn't indicate clearly which they liked best. Then came the important part, the final plea.

"Kurt," Heidi began, "why do you think you should be the winner of Project Runway?"

Kurt took a deep breath and said, "I believe out of the three of us here I have the most to offer. Along with having a unique style, I'm completely dedicated to this industry, and I already have the connections I need to make it big; I just need a chance. And I think if you look at the work I've done throughout this competition, and the collection I showed today, you'll see I've earned it."

"Thank you," she said, then turned towards Harry. "And Harry, why do you think you should be the winner of Project Runway?"

"I've shown countless times that I create well-made clothes, and with this collection I've shown my versatility and creativity as a designer. I'll constantly bring new ideas to the table and that's what being a great designer is all about. I've had more worldly experience than either of the two here, and I'm older, and more experienced. With the prize money, I'll be able to create a line that the world's never seen before."

"Thanks, and Blaine? Same thing, why do you think you should be the winner of Project Runway?"

Time stopped. Ideas and words flew around in his mind but Blaine couldn't grab onto anything solid. There were plenty of things he could say but none felt right. Anything he said now would be superficial bullshit, it would be a lie, and he couldn't deal with that. He had always wondered how much this last statement affected their chances, and he was about to find out.

"Blaine?" Heidi repeated, knitting her eyebrows.

"I," he stopped, taking a deep breath, "I don't think I should be the winner of Project Runway." A shocked silence fell and the judges looked at if they had just had the wind knocked out of them. "I think Kurt should win."

"That's crap! That's complete crap!" Harry shouted, his face turning an ugly reddish-purple. "They're- they're dating! That's what! It's a complete conflict of interest!"

The judges finally seemed to pull it together and Heidi signaled at Harry to stop. "Harry, calm down, let's hear Blaine out."

"I just think he's the best designer here," Blaine said with a shrug. "I think his collection was the best, and I think he'll make the most of the prize." He looked to Kurt but the lights were shining too brightly to get a clear look at his expression.

"And is it true what Harry said?" Heidi asked. "Are you two romantically involved?"

Blaine really hoped Kurt was telling the truth when he said he was okay with everyone finding out about them because there was no stopping it now. "As of right now, no, but in the past, yes. Regardless, though, I still believe Kurt is the best designer..."

Harry scoffed loudly and threw his hands up, shooting Blaine a look that could kill.

"Well, we certainly have a lot to talk about," Heidi said with a spark in eyes as if this made things all the more fun, which it probably did for her. "We will call you back when we've made our decision, you may leave the runway."

Kurt strode on ahead of Blaine, not waiting for him to catch up. But once they reached the waiting room there was nowhere for him to hide. Blaine sat next to him and waited for him to say something.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," he finally said. His voice was calm and unreadable, as was his face, which was turned downward to look at his clasped hands.

"Of course I do. And you didn't need the help, I'm sure you would have won even without it. It was just the only thing I could think to say that would be true."

"You need to have confidence in your work." He looked up at Blaine now and there was a flash of anger in his eyes.

"I do," Blaine insisted, "I thought my collection was great, just not as good as yours. But besides that, what am I going to do with 100,000 dollars to start my own line? I don't- it's taken me awhile, but I've realized this isn't it for me. Not for my career at least. I don't have the passion that you, or even Harry, has, and it would be a shame to waste such an incredible opportunity on someone who's not going to take advantage of it."

Kurt was quiet but then nodded a few times and looked up at Blaine again. "Well I think the fashion world has lost a great designer today, but if that's your decision then I support it wholeheartedly."

Blaine smiled and Kurt echoed it, although it was dimmer.

"You know there are cameras in here right? There getting all this on tape.," Harry said from the corner where he was sulking.

Blaine shrugged, "I don't really see how that changes anything."

"Yeah, whatever," he mumbled, turning away. If he wasn't such an incredible jerk, Blaine would almost feel bad for the guy. It would suck to be in his position.

Over an hour went by before Tim came in and announced the judges were ready. Tim held eye contact with him for longer than usual, and Blaine expected some kind of scolding, but then, for a second, his lips quirked up, and in that moment Blaine realized that perhaps Tim knew what had been going on in his mind before even he did.

* * *

One of the most cliche things to say when something incredible happened was "I never could have imagined this is my wildest dreams." To Kurt this just showed that these people had no imagination. He had dreamed winning Project Runway plenty of times since he was kid, and now he was here, so very close. The anxiety was so intense he was afraid he'd faint right there on stage before they even announced anything.

What Blaine had done was a complete shock, of course, but he didn't think it would affect him or his chances all that much. Obviously it took Blaine out of the running, but other than that it was more for Blaine's effect than his own. Finally he had begun to admit to himself what he wanted and didn't want in this life, and that was the first step in finding his path.

The lights dimmed, bringing Kurt back to reality, and his nausea flared.

The spotlight fell on Heidi and composed as ever, she began to speak. "In light of recent events, we've decided to disregard the personal statements you gave us. Through the raw scores, there had already been a relatively clear winner, so they were virtually unnecessary anyway. So, moving on, the winner of Project Runway, who will receive 100,000 dollars to start their own line, a spread in Marie Claire magazine, and chance to sell their clothes on the Lord and Taylor website is... Kurt Hummel!"

Kurt's body took over and began reacting but his mind couldn't keep up. He gasped, and began to cry, while his head was still frozen in a state of shock. Somewhere along the way Blaine and Harry must have left the runway because suddenly his dad was running towards him with Carole and Finn in tow. "I knew you could do it buddy," Burt said as he enveloped Kurt and squeezed him hard.

Carole gave her congratulations as well as the judges who had joined them on stage. Usually Kurt was pretty eloquent but right now he had no words for what he was feeling. He was so happy it felt like he was going to float away. Things hadn't really sunk in - about how much this was going to change his life - all he knew is this is what he had been working towards for so many years, and he finally got it.

The judges gently ushered them all off the runway and back to the waiting room where Blaine and Harry sat with their loved ones. Harry was sandwiched between his mother and boyfriend, both of whom were trying to comfort him, while Blaine sat and talked quietly with his parents and Cooper. When he walked in Blaine jumped up to give him a hug as did Cooper, and even Harry's boyfriend gave him a sullen "congratulations".

But then Kurt was being pushed along even further and he began to panic. "Hold on," he said, taking a few steps back towards Blaine. "Wait for me?" he asked quietly, suddenly so afraid if he stepped through those doors he would lose contact with Blaine again.

"Of course," Blaine said, and only then did Kurt allow him to be whisked away into another room.

* * *

Blaine had no idea how long the post-competition, winner-of-Project-Runway, interviews would last but he told Kurt he would wait and that he would. He'd sent his parents back to the hotel with a promise he'd call him when he got done with this, so he stood alone, leaning against the wall outside the entrance of the building.

Despite ensuring the outcome for himself, Blaine couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. Months of hard work gone and this was the outcome. But then he shook his head, ridding himself of that thought. This absolutely wasn't all for nothing. He'd improved as a designer, he'd learned a lot about himself, and he'd met the person who could be the love of his life.

As always, it all came back to Kurt. Blaine knew what he had to do, and it wasn't going to be easy, but it was for the best. Now he just had to wait.

The sun was low in the sky before Kurt exited the building with his family, looking far too glum for someone who had just won Project Runway. Kurt craned his neck to look around and when he saw Blaine it was like a floodgate broke. Suddenly the tension was gone and he was smiling bright, laughing even as he leaned over to say something to the rest of his family. They all turned to look at Blaine and, feeling subconscious, Blaine gave them a small wave. Then the two adults nodded at Kurt and Carole, Blaine remembered, grabbed Finn's arm and tugged him from where he was still standing and staring.

Kurt walked towards him slowly and didn't say anything until he as a few feet away. "I didn't think you would wait."

"I said I would, didn't I?" They weren't talking about that afternoon anymore and they both knew it. "Kurt, can we start over? I don't mean, like, forgetting everything that's happened between us, but we haven't even been on a proper date, so can we start there, and just see how things go?" Blaine had no doubts on where things would go, as long as Kurt was on board, but it seemed the logical place to start.

"That sounds wonderful," Kurt said as he reached out and grabbed Blaine's hands in his.

But then, just for a second, something flickered in Kurt's eyes. "What is it?" Blaine asked.

"Nothing," Kurt said quickly, with a shake of his head.

Blaine sighed slightly. "Kurt, if this is going to work out we need to be completely honest with each other. No more secrets."

Kurt bit his lip, staying quiet, but then said, "I just, I was really hoping I'd get to kiss you, but I totally understand we need to start with the first date and work our way up and-"

Not being able to take it any longer, Blaine surged forward and pressed his lips against Kurt. "Five minutes," he mumbled against Kurt's mouth. "We'll start in five minutes."

"Then we better make the most of it," Kurt practically purred before claiming Blaine's lips in a hungry kiss.

* * *

**I hope you guys are satisfied with the ending; I know it's not all sunshine and rainbows but Kurt and Blaine still have a ways to go and I wanted to show that. **

**Now more importantly thank you thank you thank you to all you readers out there! Honestly it's your reviews and favorites and follows that keep me motivated to write and post. I LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH :3  
**

**As for the epilogue it will be posted next Tuesday (as usual) and then this story will be officially complete. It's going to take place a few months after the end here and will be centered around Kurt and Blaine watching Project Runway as it comes on TV. So there's going to be 12 scenes in the chapter, each pretty short, for each of the 12 challenges.**

**Thanks again to all of you and PLEASE let me know what you thought of this story or what I can do to improve as a writer or anything :) You can also find me on tumblr as imfeelinghellagood**

**Oh and of course here are Kurt and Blaine's final collections:**

**Kurt (by Irina Shabayeva): I couldn't find a picture of the whole collection so you'll have to watch a video of her final runway show **youtube(.com)/watch?v=zMUAbHCRIaA** (don't worry it's short)**

**Blaine (by Anthony Ryan Auld): **imageshack(.us)/a/img191/3905/projectrunwaydress(. jpg)


	16. Epilogue

**As previously stated, this is split into twelve mini parts, each section capturing Kurt and Blaine watching a different episode of Project Runway. But more than that, these are just little snippets into the life of Kurt and Blaine after they get together. **

**As for what's next for me, I don't see me starting another long fic for quite some time. I wrote a little drabble just yesterday that you can find on here (shameless self promotion) and I have a couple others I'll probably write out soon but I'm generally taking a break from fanfic to work on my nano from last year. **

**Thanks again to all you readers out there! I've had a blast writing this and it's hard to believe it's finally coming to a close.**

* * *

"And here we go," Kurt said as he placed the tray on coffee table, shooting Blaine a quick smile. "Oh!" he exclaimed, jumping back up, "be right back." He came back a moment later with two glasses and a bottle of wine which he sat next to the bowls of pasta.

"This looks so great," Blaine said, his mouth starting the water. The smell of the fettuccine had been teasing him ever since he arrived.

Kurt picked up the remote and flipped to the channel even though it was still a few minutes until show time. He took a few delicate sips of wine but wasn't digging in like Blaine was.

"You nervous?" he asked, setting down his fork.

Kurt shrugged, "A little I guess. What if my stuff is really awful? Or I don't have a good face for TV?"

The exterior confidence Kurt bore so well and showed the rest of the world wasn't for Blaine anymore- it was very rare that Kurt threw those old walls up against him. Now he wasn't afraid to tell Blaine how he was really feeling and Blaine made sure whenever he did that he didn't scoff and brush it off. It may seem crazy to him that Kurt could doubt his talent after all this time but it's how he felt.

"Honey, if you can impressive Heidi, Nina, and Michael, I think you can impress some TV viewers. And as for your face? You're already so beautiful and you know those editors can do wonders making people look good, so honestly I'm a little scared of just how gorgeous you're going to be." It's teasing but only lightly, because Kurt seriously is absolutely stunning.

Shaking his head, Kurt lets out a small chuckle before reaching over to squeeze Blaine's hand. "You always know just what to say."

"Mmm, I am kind of perfect like that," Blaine responds, earning himself light shove from Kurt and then a "shh" because it's 9 o'clock.

* * *

Blaine went straight from the door to flop down on the couch face first. "Ugh, I never want to move again," he groaned, his words muffled by the cushion.

"Blaine, you're going to wrinkle your suit," Kurt said with a sigh, then moving into the bedroom to change.

They'd made a promise that every Thursday night they would watch Project Runway together but it was only the second week and Kurt was thinking they'd have to make an exception. It was late and they were both exhausted from the Vogue party they just came home from.

In the past Kurt had just been a nameless face in the crowd but tonight he and Blaine had been some of the most sought after guests. Although nobody was supposed to know, it was common knowledge that he had won Project Runway and Blaine had been a runner up. Most of the people who came up to them were lesser important people trying to schmooze, but there were a few higher-ups that were actually interested in talking to them; especially Blaine.

Kurt was busy working on his Project Runway sponsored line and was moving up at Vogue, but Blaine still wasn't working in the fashion world, and people saw that as an opportunity. Now Blaine of course cleared things up, that he didn't want to work in the fashion industry, but it was a hard thing to convince many people so it led to a night that was both physically and mentally draining.

When Kurt reentered in the living room he found Blaine still lying on the couch and on the brink of sleep. "Come on sleepy head," he said, pulling Blaine to his feet, "You can stay here tonight and we'll watch first thing in the morning."

Blaine snuffled something against his shoulder and Kurt smiled as he practically dragged Blaine to his bedroom.

* * *

Blaine froze with a forkful of lo mein halfway to his mouth and asked, "What?" as he rubbed at his face subconsciously.

"Nothing, you just look adorable," Kurt said, still staring. He only broke his gaze once the show went to commercial and he got up to get something from the kitchen. They'd opted for casual dining tonight and ordered in chinese. "Hey, do you want any more of this fried rice, B?"

The nickname, which he hadn't heard in many years, sent a burst of warmth through him. "You called me B," he said softly once Kurt popped his head into the room because he still hadn't gotten an answer.

"Oh, yeah, is that okay?" Kurt asked, his cheeks a little pink.

"I love it," Blaine said, unable to keep a grin off his face.

* * *

The door slamming closed with his first clue. Blaine came over to join Kurt where he was already sitting on the couch but didn't say anything. "Um, is... everything okay?"

Blaine grit his teeth and for a split second Kurt thought he was about to yell at him but then he sucked in a ragged breath. "Blaine, what's wrong?" he asked as he scootched closer.

"I talked to my dad, I told him I was going back to school to get my teaching degree, and well... he didn't take it that well. Especially once I told him I wasn't look to teach college, but elementary. I mean, my mom said he's sure to come around, but I just hate disappointing him."

"Well he's disappointing me," Kurt said forcefully. "Being a teacher is a great job, and it's what's going to make you happy, and if he doesn't care about that then screw him."

Blaine hummed noncommittally and snuggled in closer to Kurt. They stay like that as they watched the show, both of them quiet save a few whispered comments. When Blaine was feeling down he strayed from his usual, upbeat domineer and Kurt was fine to just let him be for a night.

* * *

"Blaine, no teasing," Kurt forced out between clenched teeth. "You need to-" he let out moan as Blaine took him in even deeper, "hurry up!"

Blaine pulled off with a loud slurp and looked up at Kurt though his lashes. "Kurt, I said I would get you off before the commercials ended, and I will. Now let me do my job," he practically growled before sucking Kurt's head into his mouth. He focused on the tip for a few seconds, letting his tongue run wild, before unexpectedly sinking down fast.

Kurt's hands grappled for something and found Blaine's hair which was still damp from the shower. Blaine sunk even deeper on Kurt's cock and covered the little bit not in his mouth with his hand and all it took was a little humming to get Kurt to let go.

Once Blaine swallowed it all he pulled off and tucked Kurt back into his pants because he was still out of it from his orgasm to do it himself. Then, just as he settled in next to Kurt again, the theme music came on.

"See?" Blaine said with a smirk on his face.

Kurt was still a little out of breath but he managed to say, "Yeah, well I'll have to return the favor next break," as he took in the tented front of Blaine's pajamas.

* * *

It was just a little after 9 when the doorbell rang and Kurt looked at Blaine curiously, as if he had something to do with whoever was at his house. "I have no idea who that could be," he muttered as he stood and made his way to the door. He looked out the peephole and then sighed loudly.

"Who is it?" Blaine called but Kurt didn't answer, only taking a deep breath and then opening the door. "Rachel," he said, his tone a forced calm, "I told you I was busy with Blaine every Thursday at this time."

"And that's exactly why I stopped by," the girl said as she breezed by Kurt and over to where Blaine sat.

"Hi," she said, extending her hand, "I know we've met before but I haven't met you since you've started dating Kurt and since he refused to introduce I decided to take matters into my own hands."

"...okay?" Blaine looked at Kurt, his eyes pleading for help.

"Rachel," he said, forcing himself onto the couch in between them, "we're in the middle of watching something."

"Project Runway? Oh I know, I've been keeping up with it too of course! I really love your stuff Blaine, and when I become a broadway star I want no one but you designing my red carpet dress."

"Thank you, and well I would but-"

"Stop harassing my boyfriend," Kurt told Rachel, although the venom was lost because as soon as he said the word boyfriend a smile lit his face and he shot a smitten glance at Blaine. "Now if you're going to stay here, because I doubt I could get you to leave, you need to shut up and watch the show. Got it?"

Rachel mimed zipping her lips and turned her attention to the screen but it wasn't two minutes later that she was opening her mouth back up again and Blaine had a feeling Kurt would be ready to explode by the end of the night.

* * *

"I know it's stupid to get all worked up about this," Kurt said with a sniffle, "but I just can't help it."

"It's not stupid," Blaine said fiercely, feeling the anger boil beneath his skin. "Those people are two-faced jerks, and honestly Kurt, they're just jealous of your talent."

During the show that night, some designers had said some awfully cruel things about Kurt. One of them was Harry, so that wasn't unexpected, but the other was Alice, someone they both thought had been kind. Blaine knew the editing process could blow things up and take them out of context, but nobody had forced Alice to call Kurt whiny and stuck up. Kurt had already had a tough day at work so coming home to this had just been the icing on a horrible day.

Blaine hugged Kurt even tighter and placed kisses along his neck and around his face. It didn't make all the hurt go away, but Kurt was giggling now, and what a wonderful sound that was.

* * *

The door flew open and in rushed Blaine with his laptop open and a wildness in his eyes. "Kurt, I need to show you something."

"But the show is going to start in-"

"It can wait," Blaine said, setting the laptop down and waving Kurt over. "Okay, have you ever heard of a website called tumblr?"

"Of course, why?"

"Take a look at this," Blaine said as he yanked Kurt down next to him.

Kurt's eyes scanned the page, not really taking in what he was seeing, but names and faces, their names and faces, kept jumping out at him. "What- are these about us?"

"Yes! People are blogging about us!"

"Well we kind of knew that would happen didn't we? I mean we are on a TV show."

Blaine shook his head, "No Kurt, they're blogging about us. Actually read."

Kurt rolled his eyes but looked back at the screen and actually read some of the posts and comments on the pictures of them. "Oh... oh my god," he muttered, scrolling down some more. "Oh my god Blaine look at this!"

Blaine looked and then yelped and shut his laptop. "Should we call the police?" he half whispered.

Laughing out loud, Kurt shook his head. "It's called fanfiction Blaine, and while a little creepy, it's not exactly uncommon on the internet."

"But they were writing about us..." he trailed off.

"Well they aren't exactly wrong, are they?" Kurt said, waggling his eyebrows, and finally getting Blaine to crack a smile. "Where did you find all that anyway?"

"Apparently our "ship name"- shipping it was they call it when they want to people to be together or something like that- is called klaine so I just looked it up on tumblr and all of that came up!"

"Alright so it's a little insane," Kurt said, but with laughter still echoed on his face. "I mean, Harry made that one comment last week about us being "extra close", but other than that there's been no mention on the show. You do have a pretty bad case of the heart eyes though..." he said, thinking back to one of the gifs he saw.

"Just think how crazy they'll go when the finale airs," Blaine said and both of them dissolved into giggles.

* * *

By the time 8:55 rolled around Kurt had pretty much given up. They hadn't spoken all day, not since last night. It had been a stupid fight, just a result of the long hours he'd been clocking at Vogue the past couple weeks. Things would slow down soon, thankfully, but for now the extra work really shortened his fuse. He'd yelled at Blaine over a few dishes and clothes lying around and he didn't blame him for not wanting to come over, even if it was their tradition.

But then the doorbell rang. Usually Blaine just walked right in so it couldn't be... but as Kurt opened the door he saw it was. "Blaine," he said, a smile on his face but his tone cautious.

Blaine stepped inside and fidgeted a little, looking down at his shoes as he said, "I'm sorry Kurt. I'm sorry for being such a slob especially in your apartment."

But that was the thing, it didn't feel like just his apartment anymore; it felt like theirs. Blaine had begun spending more and more time over at Kurt's, even spending the night a few times a week. During the fight Kurt had emphasized that it was his apartment and obviously that hurt Blaine. Kurt wanted to talk about, but he decided now wasn't the time, not right after their fight.

"Hey, look at me," he said, and Blaine looked up right away. "You be a little cleaner, and I'll be a little less cranky when I come home. We're going to be just fine. Capiche?"

"Capiche," Blaine echoed, that familiar smile finally spreading across his face. Then he fit his hand in Kurt's and let himself be tugged to the couch where they spent the night snuggling.

* * *

Since Kurt hadn't been able to make it back to Ohio for Christmas, he decided to plan a weekend in the early spring to visit. Blaine came too, as it was his spring break, so the two of them flew out Wednesday night with plans to stay until Sunday.

Of course the weekend had all the awkwardness that the first-time-meeting-the-boyfriend situation does, but Kurt loved his family, and of course they all loved Blaine, so it really was a fun time.

They had even all joined together to watch Project Runway on Thursday despite Kurt and Blaine's protests.

"What, you think we haven't been watching?" Burt asked incredulously.

"Well no, but it's going to be awkward with me and Blaine sitting right there!"

"Oh honey it will be fine," Carole cut in. "Besides, Finn is having Jen come over too and she really wants to meet you guys. She's a huge fan."

It turned out Jen really was a huge fan, and her gushing over the boys was met with humbleness on Blaine's side and less contained enjoyment on Kurt's. What can he say, it felt good to have his talents recognized.

This week was the wedding challenge, so there was a lot of "oohing" and "awwing" over the children, especially with how close Blaine was with the little girl he worked with. Seeing it like this, it was no surprise the career choice Blaine made. "You're going to make a great teacher," Kurt whispered in his ear and Kurt's not sure he'd ever seen a happier look on his face.

Kurt won that challenge so Burt broke the champagne out when it was finished and they spent the rest night laughing and sharing stories, and Kurt reveled in how well Blaine already seemed to fit in with their little family.

* * *

Kurt had been trying to figure out how to ask Blaine to move in with him for weeks but when it finally happened it just came out. They had just finished watching Project Runway, the last episode before the finale, and instead of Blaine standing up to leave he cuddled in closer to Kurt.

"Stay," Kurt said softly.

"Mmm, okay," Blaine said, already sounding sleepy.

"I mean permanently."

This woke Blaine up, and he sat up slowly, disentangling himself from Kurt. "You mean- you mean like move in?"

Kurt nodded and bit his lip, too nervous to speak.

"Of course!" Blaine exclaimed. He leaned over and captured Kurt's lips in a soft kiss before resting his forehead on Kurt's. "I mean, I'll have to make sure that's okay with Josh, but I'm pretty sure he saw it coming. Just... yes-yes," he repeated before sealing their lips together again.

* * *

Blaine knew where the finale was going before it even aired. For the past couple weeks, the show had been emphasizing the growing closeness between Kurt and him and had gotten quotes from other designers about them. Most were just talking about how good of friends they had become, but a couple designers made good natured comments about how they guessed it was more.

Then, in the recap when the finale began, most of the clips featured the two of them together.

"Wow, they really are playing up this love story thing," Kurt muttered.

"Is that okay?" Blaine asked, afraid Kurt was regressing to his old desires of not going public with the relationship.

"Oh no, I don't care about that," Kurt said quickly as he read Blaine's concern, "I'm just mad this isn't more about the fashion."

In reality though, it wasn't as bad as they feared, and there wasn't any mention of them being together until the end with Blaine's confession and Harry's complaints. When the judges were shown making their decision, they revealed they had already guessed Kurt and Blaine were together.

"I mean they way they looked at each other- they weren't exactly subtle!" Heidi said with a laugh.

Then, of course, they made the decision to disregard the personal statements and that was the end of that. That part of it wasn't quite as dramatic as Kurt had expected. The other part, the winning part, that was a little more emotional.

When they announced he won and Blaine popped the champagne and brought Kurt a bouquet of flowers, it almost felt like he was winning all over again. Now, when he walked down the street, people would recognize him as the winner of Project Runway. Now, he would be up there with the names of all the other extremely talented people who have won the show.

They aired only a little snippet of the much, much lengthier interview Kurt had done after he won and that was it; the journey was truly over.

"You know, I'm surprised they didn't ask you about me in that final interview," Blaine mused.

"Oh they did, but I told them to fuck off and focus on their job, literally!" Kurt said as he laughed. "I wish you could have seen the look at the interviewers face, it was priceless!"

Blaine was laughing too now, both of them completely giddy. "God I love you," Blaine said, still chuckling. Then he stopped, realizing what he said, and Kurt looked at him with wide eyes. "I do, I love you," Blaine repeated, now more seriously.

It took Kurt a moment to collect himself but then, "I love you too," and neither of them would have a happier night than that in a long, long time.

* * *

**THE END! It's been great guys, and don't be a stranger, come talk to me on tumblr :)**


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